New Noise Magazine Issue # 62 by New Noise Magazine

LIVE

ALBUM

OUT

MAY 6TH

TAKING BACK SUNDAY TELL ALL Y OU R F R IE N D S 20TH AN N IV ER SA R Y ED ITIO N

REMASTERED AND EXPANDED INCLUDES “CUTE WITHOUT THE ‘E’ (CUT FROM THE TEAM),” “GREAT ROMANCES OF THE 20TH CENTURY” AND “YOU’RE SO LAST SUMMER” PLUS, FOUR PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED DEMOS AND NEW LINER NOTES 2-LP + BONUS ETCHED 10” CD AND DIGITAL

AVAILABLE MAY 27 LIMITED CASSETTE OF THE ORIGINAL ALBUM ALSO AVAILABLE

CRAFTR E C O R D IN G S .C OM TAKING B A C K SU N D A Y .COM

DOUBLE LP // DIGITAL // CASSETTE // COMPACT DISC

ISSUE 62

THE FRONT 6 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46

THE NEW WHAT NEXT HAUNTER PICTORIA VARK SUNDOWN KREATOR FEARING FEAR OF A QUEER PLANET LIFE IN THE STOCKS BREAKING THE LAW PR BE WELL CANCER BATS TERROR PRAISE SPANISH LOVE SONGS TIM KASHER SMOKE OR FIRE SNUFF STATE CHAMPS PULLEY JOHN DOE

FEATURES 48 50 52 54 56 58 62 66

THE SOVIETTES PUP THESE ARMS ARE SNAKES SOUL GLO SILVERSTEIN A WILHELM SCREAM HO99O9 CAVE IN

THE BACK 70 72 74 76 78 80 82 84 86

JIM LINDBERG SPICE CREMATION LILY OCEANATOR THE COLOR FRED ELWAY DEATHWHITE SATAN THE SHORTLIST

IN MEMORY OF GABE SERBIAN 1977-2022 PHOTO BY BECKY DIGIGLIO HO99O9 COVER PHOTO BY JOE CALIXTO CAVE IN COVER PHOTO BY JAY ZUCCO A WILHELM SCREAM COVER PHOTO BY TYLER DIPAOLO

BY NICHOLAS SENIOR PHOTO Gabrielle Field

PHOTO Lysa Opfer

PHOTO Ryan Gorman

CATHEDRAL CEILINGS Location: New Jersey Album: Summer of Misguided Dynamite, out May 27 via Dromedary Records

There’s something magical about the way music can make you feel. Certain styles and bands are what I call funkproof. No matter where my mind, body, or soul are at, I am ready and willing to escape into whatever they are willing to provide. Cathedral Ceilings are at the top of that list now, due to their excellent (and wonderfully titled) Summer of Misguided Dynamite. They honestly sound like a Jersey punk band trying their hand at DC post-hardcore and California pop-punk at the same time, which makes for a record overflowing with great hooks and guitarwork. It also helps immensely that Summer of Misguided Dynamite feels like a band of best friends having one or two (too many) and shooting the shit about the state of the world. Ralphie Malanga guitarist/vocalist expands on that notion: “I think you can make an argument that almost every record is a plea to stay sane in crazy times! Priorities have definitely changed in my life, and I’m sure in (the rest of the band’s) lives as well. None of us are in our 20s or 30s anymore. Those problems seem trivial now. There are a couple of politically themed songs on this record, but it was impossible not to get political, as the Jan 6th insurrection was happening when I was writing the lyrics. At the same time, the whimsical nature of rock ‘n’ roll took its course, balancing out any heavy lamenting with self-deprecation and silly word stew. Turn on, tune in, drop out. Veni,vidi,vici. I got 99 problems, but the band’s not one.” 💣 PHOTO Alycia Kravitz

CONVERT

Location: Milwaukee, WI Album: Saves, out now via Triple Eye Industries

HEY THANKS!

Location: New Orleans, LA Album: Start/Living, out May 27 via Iodine Recordings

Birthed out of the fertile Milwaukee punk scene, Convert wanted to layer on their love of goth, industrial, and postpunk into the members’ collective past in punk and hardcore. The result is a synth punk masterclass that leans hard into both aspects of the sound.

Hey Thanks! creates a broad-spectrum brand of pop that somehow miraculously aims for substance over sheer sunniness, despite screaming to be played at the loudest possible volume the second summer hits. Though I have no idea their religious beliefs, Start/Living reminds me of a particularly Christian, Tooth & Nail brand of alt/pop that was popular when I was growing up–Anberlin, Acceptance, Vocalist Dillon Hallen expands: The Juliana Theory–but with a sheen and focus that feels “From the beginning it was really all about trying to make the totally alive and unique. This is pop music first and foremost, best record we could with the material we had. We wanted but it’s clear the band are influenced by a host of various the production to be this aggressive chaotic wall of sound, genres where a hook is appreciated (indie, electronic, full of synth textures and still have hooks, something that hardcore, post-punk, hip hop, K pop, etc.). To list all of their while maintaining a dark catchiness, could also at certain influences would be akin to revealing a magician’s methods, but needless to say, I cannot imagine anyone who wouldn’t times sonically implode at any given moment.” appreciate what they’ve done with this album. That sense of implosion seeped into the record’s themes as well: The band share their mindset leading up to the record: “The lyrics for each song are told from a different character’s perspective with a sinister element casting over it all. Much “For us, this record was really about making songs that we like the anthology pre-code horror/crime comics and un- knew we were going to love for a long time. We didn›t want derground comix or like the anthology horror and science to write songs focused on any specific genre or with any fiction reruns on TV that I watched religiously when I was preconceived notion of what a Hey Thanks! song is supposed younger. There is no coincidence that the lyrics come from to sound like. I think the pandemic and that whole time in that imprint on my mind. With all that said though the subject our lives played a big role in that attitude. There were points matter that I pull from for the lyrics come more from the when we were writing it where we felt like it really might be the inescapable reality we belong to than any fictional scenario. last record we ever made. So if that was the case, we wanted Lyrically, the record’s message isn’t positive. It’s just a mirror to make sure we weren›t trying to please anyone but the five of us. Thankfully, we will be making more music, but I›m glad showing the ugliness of the times we live in.” 💣 we went about it the way that we did because it resulted in a record that we›re all so proud of and love so much.” 💣

LA NEVE

Location: Providence, RI Album: History Solved, out now via Self-Release La Neve’s latest EP is a sonic exploration of the in-between spaces in life and art. Vocalist and guitarist Joey La Neve DeFrancesco (also of Downtown Boys and What Cheer? Brigade) has created a project that feels purposefully liminal. It’s dance punk for those who don’t want the type of dance major-label house labels are selling, and it’s punk for those who scoff at Machine Gun Kelly’s arena appeal. La Neve also wisely leans into DeFrancesco’s labor organizer day job for inspiration, as this is a record for the people, not the power. DeFrancesco shares more on the act’s inspiration: “I’ve written the La Neve material as a punk musician who loves dance, disco, digital hardcore, and so on, so when I write in those styles, it becomes a sludge of everything. It’s not a purposeful decision to be all over the place; it’s just the only thing I know how to do. On this record, Karna Ray’s drumming and Marco Buccelli’s co-production really helped ramp up those elements. What I love about disco, drag, house, and rave culture is exactly what has been sanitized and erased by the corporate monopolies that control our cultural production. I don’t think I set out to reclaim anything, but I did want to see a messy drag performer who makes dance and punk music, so that’s what I made.” 💣

6 NEW NOISE

PHOTO Jay Stone

PHOTO Luca Ash

MICHAEL KANE & THE MORNING AFTERS OTTONE PESANTE

Location: Worcester, MA Album: Broke but Not Broken, out now via State Line Records

Location: Faenza, Italy Album: ...And the Black Bells Rang, out now via Aural Music

If you write honest heartland rock and hail from the Northeast, every Tom, Dick, and Harry will name drop “The Boss” Bruce Springsteen, but Michael Kane & The Morning Afters somehow feels older than that. Echoes of the best of Elton John and Billy Joel ring through their triumphant debut, Broke but not Broken. This is the kind of melodic rock that, like the best of friends and a bottle of Jack Daniels (or a bowl), is both unabashedly authentic yet always ends with a nudge of encouragement. Kane and company thrive in bridging the gap between bubbly pop and blue-collar rock, resulting in introspective songs with a ton of meat on their bones.

If you’re idly sitting by your computer and want to see something you’ve never seen before, please google this band. I love the idea of the usual butting up against the unusual–that moment when the expected and unexpected meet is where amazing art happens. Ottone Pesante may represent the pinnacle of that idea in metal, in part because it’s an idea that sounds crazy on paper–metal without guitars. In practice, Ottone Pesante actually remind me of the more restrained aspects of Imperial Triumphant, which is to say ...And the Black Bells Rang is a bombastic, expansive intersection of jazz, prog, and metal. Where the two diverge most obviously is in not only the focus of brass instrumentation but also in emphasis. Imperial Triumphant aim to blend the terrifying with the beautiful. Ottone Pesante clearly want to showcase how experimentation can create interesting, fun music. And this EP really is a blast.

Vocalist/guitarist Michael Kane shares his lyrical inspiration: “It’s all very earnest. Things can get real very quick. Things can get bad very quick. The situation I found myself in really lent to these songs. When I was writing this record, I was going through a divorce as well as some health issues. I really wanted this record to sound hopeful. Oscar Wilde said, ‘We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.’ I hope people see the hope in these songs, though. I didn’t set out to write a super personal record, but when it was all said and done, it’s what happened. I’m glad I had these songs to write. It helped with processing the whole thing. Like ‘Am I a failure at everything? ... Well, I hope not.’” 💣

Trombonist/tubaist Francesco Bucci shares the band’s ethos: “The spark that leads the group is very clear to each one of us: trying to push brass sound, brass instruments at their most extreme possible level in every direction of experimentation (compositions, grooves, electronics, technique…). The creative force behind OP is the fact that we are growing together as musicians and as a band, following the focus and our desires to experiment. One of my first goal is exactly this: music first, with more intensity and creativity as possible coming from deep feelings and a fundamental focus in musical research without compromise but combined with a freedom and fun attitude. You can easily notice the funny side from the covers of our works, titles, and especially when we play live!” 💣

SADURN

Location: Philadelphia, PA Album: Radiator, out May 6 via Run For Cover So many of the stories of the past few years have been about isolation and separation, so it’s like a healing salve to hear of a story of a solo project growing to become something grander without losing that initial spark in the process. Sadurn began as the sole voice of vocalist/guitarist Genevieve DeGroot before blossoming into a full band on their debut album. Radiator, uh, radiates a sort of warmth that’s only possible when you’re with those you trust the most–this is sparse, intimate indie folk of the highest order. It’s to Sadurn’s great credit that what is clearly the result of a cohesive group still feels like the sound of souls laid completely bare. It’s also the most haunting and beautiful album of this or any recent year. DeGroot had this to share about making this as a fully-fledged unit: “I think something we all had in mind was wanting to maintain the kind of intimacy that had been the spirit of the project in its acoustic form. One way we did that was by trying to track as many things live together as we could and leave in some rawness from the recording process. One of my favorite moments is when you can hear someone getting up from their piano bench at the end of ‘the void / Madison.’ We also wanted to try and expand the world of each song without overproducing them or bringing them further from their source–I think when you start adding more instruments and layers in an arrangement that it can change the central axis of something; we wanted to avoid that. I do think it’s really important that we’re all friends–I don’t think we could have made the record we made if we didn’t know each other really well, and I think the fact that recording the album was like an extended sleepover hang was important to how it turned out.” 💣

RIP ROOM

Location: San Francisco, CA Album: Alight and Resound, out May 27 via Spartan Records Alight and Resound is the type of art punk that balances the engaging with the craft in a way that only the best can, which is to say this is an album that rips on an intellectual and emotional level. Noise rock, post-punk, hardcore, and punk rock are all blended together to create something greater than the sum of those solid parts. Guitarist/vocalist John Reed explains how the band are able to accomplish this: “Once a sound person asked us if we were a ‘family band’ and, at first, I was a little offended, like, are you calling us a bunch of squares? But we’ve really come to embrace that label. Uh, yeah, we’re absolutely a family. The uniting force behind what we do is to make sick music and to not waste anyone’s time. That last part is super important to us. No one wants to watch a band that doesn’t have their shit together, so we’ve always had this drive in us to put on the best performance we can muster, whether it’s playing for a packed room or for just the bartender and the other bands on the bill. So just being on that same page together makes us, perhaps, wise beyond our years.” 💣

NEW NOISE 7

PHOTO Harley Jones

SEMANTICS

SPACE OF VARIATIONS

Location: Brisbane, Australia Album: Paint Me Blue, out May 20 via SideOneDummy Records

Location: Vinnytsia, Ukraine Album: Imago, out Sept via Napalm Records

One of the purest joys in our corner of the universe is consuming a full record from front to back the second you get your hands (physically or digitally) on it. The enjoyable confusion when a single doesn’t quite capture the spirit of the full thing, and the ever-present joy in finding a new favorite song that wasn’t a single, something you can say is special only to you. That almost spiritual connection we cultivate with our favorite music was my third or fourth thought while on my tenth straight listen to Paint Me Blue. Aside from an almost primal urge to bob my head and hum along, Semantics’ debut is most striking in how adeptly the band honor the full-length format. None of these ten songs are alike save for an essential desire to make big, elated melodic punk jams for your next road trip. Doses of shoegaze, post-punk, melodic hardcore, and even doom pepper the songs, which are always buoyed by vocalist/guitarist Callum Robinson’s ace hooks. Robinson notes:

Energy is everything and has felt like a bit of a limited resource given sacred reverence in recent years, but we tend to only think about it in binary terms–either you have energy, or you don’t. However, we can create and tap into energy in many unique ways. That works with artistic creation, too. By being in tune with your relationship to energy transfer, you can not only energize yourself but also make art with the impact it will have on others in mind. That’s the heart of what makes progressive metalcore band Space Of Variations so special–their self-labeled brand of “stadium metal” feels like the best parts of a live metalcore show put to wax. That doesn’t mean it’s sterile or aiming to cater to the masses. Rather, Imago feels like an aspirational snapshot of how massive modern metalcore can and should sound. Vocalist/guitarist Alex Zatserkovnyi expands on this notion:

“The goal of this album was to explore our musical influences thoroughly and cohesively. “I think the main spark is love of heavy music, of music at all, love of sounding like a physical aspect of reality. I always was amazed at how humans can drive reality. I mean when you We had long talks amongst ourselves about what an album means to us, especially as play guitar, for example, and pluck the string, or sing, or even change EQ parameters on the streaming age becomes more single-focused, but we’re album people, and we want a mixer console, you literally change the form of vibrations in the atmosphere around you. variation, creativity, surprises, and movement between the songs. It’s fun to tap into our Isn’t that magic? This is a big detail of our music. Everyone knows that music can bring huge shoegaze roots and meet it with some almost doom/drone sounds, only to follow it with spectrum of emotions. For me, emotions are a kind of energy. When we write music, we’re upbeat pop-rock. To us, that’s the most enjoyable part of making music.” 💣 looking for energy streams and trying to turn them into sound harmonies, trying to make them deeper and brighter. Imago is about transformation, about growing, about hitting new levels, about self-identity, about understanding your place in nature, in reality, in culture, in your family, in society, and in the Universe. This record is a reminder for every human. You can’t stay at the same point all the time - you must create your life in a better way, in spite of all the terrible things that you can experience on life’s journey.” 💣

PHOTO Alex Tchoukhrova

THE INFLORESCENCE

Location: San Diego, CA Album: Remember What I Look Like, out June 10 via Kill Rock Stars

We always talk about maturity as if it is some magical portal you cross at some point and come out the other side a different person. If that happened to you, congrats and go screw yourself. Most of humanity has to learn through bad decisions and/or experiences, and maturity feels more like a heavy, unwieldy hotel luggage cart we have to drag along the way than some magic “a-ha!” moment. The Inflorescence are both wise beyond their years and keenly aware of the challenge of maturity in a world that doesn’t quite align with how they live in and see the world. Their brand of Midwest emo/pop punk is immediately warm and contains a delightful depth. It’s easy to fall in love with Remember What I Look Like while discovering more with each spin. Vocalist/guitarist Tuesday Denekas shares more about what that means to them:

THE FAKE FRIENDS

Location: Montreal, QC Album: Good Enough, out May 20 via Stomp Records

You know all those times you and your partner are arguing about where to go for dinner? Sometimes it’s not that you know what you want. It’s just that you know exactly what you don’t want. The Fake Friends may or may not agree on food choices, but they absolutely knew what they didn’t want to do with their Stomp Records debut. That guiding (negative?) light served as a wonderful creative north star. Good Enough goes well beyond its namesake to deliver the kind of hardcore-tinged melodic punk that gets the blood flowing. Delivering some of the best hooks in the business is just a side effect.

Bassist Sergio Da Silva expands on that notion: “Lyrically, I wanted this album to be unapologetically queer and melancholy with the pop twist that can catch people’s attention even if they don’t like sad or depressing stuff. Overall, this album is a lot about my experience growing up with friendships and relationships, slow- “Honestly, knowing what we don’t want to do has been more of a guiding force than anything else. We’ve all yelled and moshed and ate shit for so long it’s nice to write and perform ly finding myself and what I need/don’t need from people. As a kid, validation from others is really important, but as you grow up you learn the hard way that at the end of the day, music that won’t get us punched in the face. We say it all the time; we’re doing all this to get on Osheaga [Festival]. We’re trying to write heavy pop tracks that your old hardcore it’s just you. I also really wanted this album to be something anyone can relate to and pull friends have to say begrudgingly are good while adding the qualifier ‘for a pop band.’” 💣 meaning from so thematically I hope this album is different for everyone.” 💣

8 NEW NOISE

PHOTO Rose Callahan

PHOTO George Douglas Peterson

THIS IS OBLIVION

TRACE AMOUNT

The idea of someone or something being a creative wellspring came from the ancient Greeks as goddesses of artistic and scientific creativity. New duo This Is Oblivion accidentally on purpose became each other’s inspiration when they quarantined together. Thankfully, we have the fruits of their labor in the form of a fantastic self-titled debut. This Is Oblivion is a stunning portrait of artists elevating various styles–gothic rock, doom, industrial, post-rock, and prog. It’s an album that feels free and loose yet beautifully interconnected.

Body horror is something we all can identify with, whether you have been blessed with a perfect specimen or (like me) have more than a few external and internal flaws. The idea of taking what we have and morphing it into something alien is terrifying and–for lack of a better word–it’s just fucking icky. After watching the great sci-fi horror film Possessor–about a hitwoman who enters the body of others via the mind to take out their targets–the idea of taking body horror and grafting it onto the mind stuck with me for longer than I’d care to admit. There was a glut of wonder, dread, and beautifully grotesque imagery throughout. While Trace Amount do not traffic in the same venue, this industrial metal powerhouse certainty take hints from the greats of sci-fi and horror in crafting one of the most fully realized musical worlds in recent memory. Dripping with dread, dancefloor beats, and an alluring mixture of fear and fun, Anti Body Language has all the makings of a classic.

Location: Brooklyn, NYC Album: Self-titled, out May 6 via Silent Pendulum

Vocalist/violinist Lulu Black elaborates on how the album came together: “We talked about collaborating musically from the night we met. We were at a show, and music was the first thing we connected over. We recognized the same drive and talent in each other, so a few months later when we ended up quarantining together in March 2020, it seemed inevitable that we’d start writing. I feel like the thing that doesn’t get talked about enough in creative work is how you have to just make time for it, just sit down every day and do the work, whether or not the ‘muse’ is there. So being forced into this situation where writing music was a sort of escape from reality and gave us a little bit of structure, something to focus on amidst all the chaos, in hindsight was pivotal in terms of us working together. The music itself, its lyrics and sound, comes from our connection with each other, and our desire to explore that connection through our instruments.” 💣

Location: Brooklyn, NY Album: Anti Body Language, out now via Federal Prisoner

Mastermind Brandon Gallagher shares some insights into the project’s creation: “I’ve always been drawn to the more aggressive side of music, but as I began to experiment more with electronic music–beginning with my previous project Coarse and the elements I created throughout our discography, I realized I could start something that was heavy but maybe not in the most traditional sense. These metal derived industrial/electronic tracks were the types of songs I was making from the start, so it just felt right to keep going with it. Creatively, I’ve been incubating in New York for my entire adult life–working, living, going to shows here–and there’s a ton of solo artists and creatives based in the harsher underground electronic scene, and it’s always bled into the metal and punk world.” 💣

HAUNTER

It’s to Haunter’s credit that something that may be an afterthought feels so fully fleshed out. The band’s most recent two records have leaned into more longform songwriting, while simultaneously leaning into efficiency over elongation.

INTERVIEW WITH GUITARIST ENRIQUE BONILLA AND VOCALIST AND GUITARIST BRADLEY TIFFIN BY NICHOLAS SENIOR

t sounds insane to argue that a threesong, 32-minute progressive metal record is direct and efficient, but Discarnate Ails, out May 6 via Profound Lore, is unlike any record you’ll hear this year. The Austin, Texas-based Haunter refuse to write the same record twice, and their third full-length is by leaps and bounds their most exceptional and dynamic creation yet—and that’s coming from someone who loved 2019’s Sacramental Death Qualia. Fusing melodic black metal, dissonant death, psychedelic prog, and a riffs-perminute ratio that would make Revocation jealous, Discarnate Ails is the perfect extreme metal record to get lost in for a half hour.

The rate of songwriting was the slowest the process ever was, and not without ample time to mold into something the whole band would find satisfactory. I wouldn’t expect Haunter to try to ‘top’ this style of execution in the future. I really wanted it to be less dynamic and more aggressive

“I actually find this record a bit more . punctuated and to-the-point than SDQ,” “As I was writing the first of the three tracks, I knew this record was going to Tiffin says. “Still a 16oz-piece of beef but Haunter are a band most interested in writ- with less fat. My songwriting headspace be the most metal Haunter album. The ing harrowing, extreme metal and posing somberness and perhaps long-winded has been wired for streamlined ideas for thoughtful questions. The record is reflec- a long time now. Always trying to maintain quality of SDQ was very purposefully tive on the cycles of spiritual destruction substituted for a more traditional and musically logical progression but with an and our collective rush towards disaster. pissed ‘metal prowess,’ be that death inimitable twist. I do have to take the blame or black. Everyone on this record had a for dragging us down such a rabbit hole. Guitarist/vocalist Bradley Tiffin explains, bigger role in being inventive, especial“We’ve never been a band to explicitly “Discarnate Ails is the highest echelon of ly with the guitar interplay.” 💣 state meaning behind lyrics because at my capability to perform in this context. the end of the day, we just wanna rock. This record has the most tangible lyrics and ideas we’ve ever written about. The actual dystopia we’re trapped in feels more absurd and the weight feels increasingly heavier. Both the lyrics and distinct songwriting are indicative of this. Lyrically it discusses sentient collective human failure as a whole, down to the individual’s (lack of) will to fight for their own betterment.”

Making something that is this dense, direct, and devastating is no accident, as “Sacramental Death Qualia was absolutely more focused on a spiritual/esoteric guitarist Enrique Bonilla can confirm. floofy fluffy plane of thinking,” Bonilla adds, “but this album is more about ob“I feel a lot of people can relate to an servable and livable human experiences. ever-decreasing attention span, so it The elements beyond the music are truly means a lot to hear it held your attention an afterthought that we try to fit around throughout the listen. It takes a lot of the chaos of finished songs and not the concentration and intention to execute other way around. We’ve always been on our end, but it’s an absolute fun ride a band about riffs first and motifs or that tests us as individual players and as themes last.” a band.”

PHOTO Oscar Moreno

MALEVOLENCE

cious intent to destroy those negative feelings. via Nuclear Blast, you’d be forgiven if you It’s about taking a negative attribute like thought the band were a bunch of tough guys. However, the band’s most earnest, malice and putting it on an empowerment kick. Taylor concurs and expands: most progressive, and easily their best album yet reveals a stunning blend of “I want to be at the forefront of the bands emotion and positivity. that have something to say, that are motivating kids to go out and have a better While longtime fans of the band may not day, smash their goals, do something be totally surprised at the shift from the more expected demonology and bra- that’s positive. While it’s heavy, and it’s screaming, and aggressive, I want to put vado-based lyrics to inspiration, but for that positive aggression out into the world. vocalist Alex Taylor, the shift was all part And from the EP, when I wrote ‘Remain of Malevolence’s necessary evolution. Unbeaten,’ that’s still one of my favorite “I mean, for example, it is a stark contrast. songs lyrically. But the first album, there was a lot of, if I’m being brutally honest, lyrics that didn’t re- “When we released that song—I think it was four or five months into the first lockdown, ally mean that much. It’s like demons and souls, the kind of what (we felt) you’re ex- And I feel like there was a lot of fear around at that time. So that song kind of pected to sing about in a metal band. And we wrote the songs, like, 11 years ago now. coincided purposely with that general feeling of fear in society. And I think that I’m 28 now, so I don’t want to sing about resonated with a lot of people. I want to (that) anymore. I want to speak about things that affect my life. For example, inspire people, motivate people, and all within a solid heavy metal album. You men’s mental health. That was a big thing INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST ALEX TAYLOR BY NICHOLAS SENIOR that I wanted to touch on with this album, know what I mean? We’ve always been a band that’s pushed that positivity. So which I’ve not really touched on before.” f you play the third record from Shef- “Band might be more sensitive than they yeah, I want to keep doing that.” 💣 field, UK-based metalcore act Malev- appear.” Given the earth-shattering bruMalicious Intent takes frustration and turns tality and stadium-sized hooks on display olence on a road trip, the rearview them into being a better person, having malimirror warning will suddenly change to, throughout Malicious Intent, out May 20 PHOTO Nat Wood

10 NEW NOISE

GGGOLDDD INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST MILENA EVA AND GUITARIST THOMAS SCIARONE BY MARIKA ZORZI and telling what it meant for me to be going through such a trauma,” Eva explains. n the silence of 2020’s lockdown, GG- “It’s really important to me that I show all GOLDDD vocalist Milena Eva was con- these layers to the trauma. For example, fronted with parts of her past that had “Invisible” is about keeping it a secret and been long buried. The repressed memo- how harmful that is. “Notes on How to Trust” is about starting to trust again; not only ries and traumatic events pushed their way others, but especially yourself. I wanted into her daily life until they could no longer it to be very real, but not only in a dark be ignored. With no choice but to confront way. I realized that it could’ve helped me her past, she accepted its presence in the back then, when it just happened to me. If present. The new album, This Shame Should somebody would’ve told me I wasn’t the Not Be Mine, an April release on Artoffact only one. That the same had happened Records, is the result of that long and deep to them. I wanted to make it visible. And I reflection, an attempt to face the past by hope it can bring comfort to others.” turning it into music. TW: Sexual violence

“When lockdown hit, I had way too much time on my hands. Up till then I had been living my life like there was no time to waste. Always working on something.” Eva says. “When all of a sudden, I had all the time in the world (because of the pandemic) there was no way for me to run or hide anymore. My mind filled up with this horror story I lived through. It was there all the time. I couldn’t ignore it any longer. I had been raped 16 years earlier. I wrote one song about it to try and make sense of it all. One song turned into two songs, then into three songs, and eventually into this whole album.” Capturing the essence of both extreme vulnerability and the strength gained from the process of reclaiming ownership of her past, this album is an intimate anthology of transformative power. “In its entirety it’s about being vulnerable

She continues, “For many victims of domestic violence or sexual assault, it’s difficult to share their experiences with friends and family and report the abuser to the police. Many victims are ashamed and hope that the violent person eventually calms down and stops their abusive behavior. In most cases, it doesn’t happen. The patriarchy is real and harmful. We can’t address any of these issues without dismantling the patriarchal capitalist system.” The title This Shame Should Not Be Mine, is indeed very straightforward. “Sexual assault comes with a lot of shame and stigma in this world,” Eva says. “That is one of the main reasons I wasn’t able to face it for so many years. It took me a lot of time and effort that neither blame nor shame are mine. The title is this mantra that I need to tell myself. That all survivors need to tell themselves. And sometimes it’s still hard to

believe it. Because I’ve been programmed for so long to think otherwise.” The writing process of the new GGGOLDDD album was also different from the previous ones. “We started writing while we were in lockdown in the pandemic,” guitarist Thomas Sciarone recalls. “It was impossible to get together as a band, so Milena and I wrote a lot in our improvised home studio. This catalyzed the process of working with electronics and diving into programming beats and synths. Also, with previous albums we would write the songs, finalize them in the studio while recording the album and then start rehearsing them

INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST, GUITARIST, COMPOSER JOHN LAMACCHIA BY TOM OSMAN

chia. “If you’re an addict and you’re struggling with addiction, something like that, a pandemic, that isolation is going to push you to the edge.” So too for alcoholics and depressives, reflects LaMacchia, “I saw that in so many people, and I even saw it in myself.”

Despite the darkness, there’s a certain sad euphoria to be heard in this music. “You know,” he laughs, “I’m not gonna lie, I was sort of, you know, enjoying myself, “The whole idea to use my last name as the moniker was really not even my idea,” so to speak, throughout the course of the writing of this album.” he says. Ultimately though making this a new project made sense. “The combiLaMacchia praises engineer Marielle nation of the style of music and the new Quintero for his role in the sound of the rename and the way it’s being presented cord and in motivating him to raise his own seems to work. I’m really happy we went game. “My song writing, I think, is definitely that way.” developing and in a direction that I’m way more comfortable with,” he says. The Covid pandemic looms large over the project. “I guess the term that comes to mind is ‘heavy hearted’,” says LaMac- The record is a real band effort, and

For the recordings they returned to Jaime Gomez Arrelano’s Orgone Studio (Ghost, Grave Pleasures, Paradise Lost) in the UK, where they also recorded their 2019 album. “We were very happy with Gomez’ work on Why Aren’t You Laughing,” Sciarone explains. “He knows very well how to create space in a production for every element to shine. This is very important for our multifaceted and textured sound.” He continues, “Musically This Shame Should Not Be Mine was the result of a long looming urge to experiment with electronics. To create from a more naive, spontaneous, maybe even primal perspective. The one key element will always be Milena’s voice and how her story and emotions come through.” 💣

PICTURE Szilveszter Makó

LaMacchia aMacchia first made his name playing guitar in the New York hardcore, jazz, metal band Candiria, before spending more time, in recent years, working on Spylacopa, a more mood-driven project. The songwriter sits in his Brooklyn apartment and reflects on putting his name to his debut record, Thunderheads, out on May 20, 2022, via Aqualamb.

for playing live. Now we had to write, rehearse and finalize all at once, in order to be ready for the Roadburn Redux live performance. It was quite intense and stressful, but it made the process also very focused and efficient.”

some great musicians were involved in the recording. Emphasising the project’s collaborative spirit, planned second single “Angels Delight” features Candice Freshko as the main vocalist. Freshko was an important part of the record making process. “We have a really great video for it. And I love that it’s different. She’s an extremely talented person and she wrote these beautiful lyrics and this beautiful melody.” Sonically, the album combines LaMacchia’s love of electronic music with more organic rock, all flowing together seamlessly. “I have to credit my label and Mario of course, for that,” says LaMacchia, “also my manager, in helping me decide how the album would unfold.” Thunderheads, features a 100-page book of lyrics, drawings and other content that came together partly from LaMacchia and Freshko taking day trips around New York, “exploring, shooting video, taking photographs, just being like two kids.” “I’m kind of excited for people to see all of this,” LaMacchia continues “and to have the opportunity to then think about the music and how it relates.”💣

NEW NOISE

PICTORIA VARK

PHOTO Meanz Chan

INTERVIEW WITH BASSIST, VOCALIST, AND SONGWRITER VICTORIA PARK BY NAT LACUNA

though, she isn’t afraid of people having ictoria Vark is the spoonerism alias to face the darker parts of herself alongof Victoria Park, who has been side her—For the most part at least. making music in Iowa City for the past few years between tours as the bass“The funny thing is, kind of like my Twitter ist of Squirrel Flower. account, I actually don’t feel uncomfortHer debut album, The Parts I Dread, able with strangers hearing any of these came out in April on Get Better Records. songs, especially since a lot of them are years old at this point. But I’m definitely It moves and carries listeners through nervous for my parents to hear them,” she mood shifts, from soaring choruses of songs like “Wyoming” to the softer, laughs. intimate songs like “Twin” and “Friend While Pictoria Vark is primarily a solo Song” that always feel full no matter how project, Victoria plays bass and does minimal they appear. vocals. When it comes to the other instruments that make up the songs, she is “There are actually a surprising amount the head of the direction on her music of layers,” says Park. “The song “Twin” has and knows where she wants it to go. For a total of 25 guitars, but they are rarely this record, she practiced more of an going all at once. “Friend Song” uses slide guitar, a rhodes mic’d far away, arrangement style for herself and then went to some trusted friends to flesh them and cityscape sounds to subtly build the out to their full potential. song’s dynamics, and a mix of different audio clips from old videos of me and my friends hanging out over the years. We “I would be writing lyrics and bass parts separately and mixing and matching to panned them all around to make it sound see what lyrics fit with what bass parts. like a party! Very special to me —you can hear me yelling “Happy Birthday, From there, I would write melodies and tweak chords, add parts, change strucJason!!” which was one of the last times I ture, etc. Once these songs were finished saw my bandmates before the pandemic in a solo bass and vocal capacity, I took started.” them to my close friends Gavin Caine (co-production, drums, keys) and Jason Care in production like that is what Ross (guitar) to arrange with me. We’ve makes Victoria’s music full, luscious, and been playing together for over 10 years captivating. Lyrically it tends to lean into and have built a lot of trust and commuthe bare-it-all, personal style of indie nication, which helps these songs sound rock that can at times be punishingly relatable. No matter how personal it gets, like they do and how I want them to!” 💣

ZORA INTERVIEW WITH THE RADICAL PRODUCER-GONE-POPSTAR OF YOUR DREAMS BY NAT LACUNA

inneapolis artist, producer, singer, rapper, and overall powerhouse ZORA has her eyes set on success by all means necessary. Through discussion of post-structural values like dissolving the capitalism that oppresses us, the most radical element of her debut album Z1: The Cuntification Of Zora, out May 20 on Get Better Records, is the unabashed joy, love for life, sexual prowess, and liberation of a young, black, LGBTQ+ woman.

“I really want to shed light on so many of the oppressive, hierarchical structures in our society. I think that Black girls are taught that we have to behave a certain way in order to be seen as society wants to see us, when in reality, femininity can come in many different ways. I want to be one of the reasons that there is a girl uprising in the next few years! On Z1, I touch on a lot of themes such as heartbreak, self-expression, mental health, and some songs just about escaping reality and just remembering to have fun.”

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The ground that Z1 covers is vast. The style of production that ZORA brings to the table covers so much ground, from the future bass in “RUNNITUP” to intimate ballads like “CLIFF” to songs like “ALL AROUND THE WORLD!” which would fit in comfortably on late 2000s pop radio. ZORA’s influences come from across the board—citing artists like Beyoncé, A Tribe Called Quest, Britney Spears, SOPHIE, and many others as inspiration, she is determined to show off her range as much as she can. “I really wanted to showcase all of the different musical styles that I’ve been inspired by. I think in the past, I have been told to only stick to one genre in order to sell, or kind of pigeonhole myself into just R’n’B, just hip hop, or just pop. In reality, I like so many different genres, and I can make so many different genres of music, so I just wanted to do it all with Z1.’” “I really just want to continue to take my

career to the next level. I want to show girls like me that we can be pop stars; we don’t have to take the cards that are given to us. We can tear them up and make our own cards. My career has always been about making my own way; I don’t think there’s anyone that has taken this specific path. I want to open doors for those that PHOTO William Hawk

come after me and give my community hope and spread positivity.” With a current place of skill and talent like ZORA has, there is no doubt that her future will be star-studded. Success is woven into her DNA along with the fighting spirit to make it happen. 💣

SHOCK WITHDRAWAL INTERVIEW WITH GUITARIST AND BASSIST NICK EMDE AND VOCALIST MITCHELL LUNA BY HUTCH

The trio of “Contrition”/”Despair Ratio/”Wounded” are all tied in theme, in judgment of some on a self-destructive cycle. Egregiously calling out destructive escapism, Luna is blunt with lyrics such as:

omy between its polar ends, vision and hope wither. The aristocracy and fortunate often “Absorb despair and drink the guilt away. Deceit to no one but to yourself. malign those who they perceive as not pulling up those pesky bootstraps, the magical cure- Dismal within, obscured by a cloak of indifference.” all that some just cannot seem to locate. “Part of what defines us as humans is based on what I call the geographical and/or genetic lottery,” Luna expands. “You are born into this flesh suit and have no control over what part of the planet you are spawned in, your race, gender, and most importantly, health, mental composure, as well as financial privilege or lack thereof. “Nadir of Humanity” is about inner turmoil and misfortune mostly due to the latter.

ew grindcore trio Shock Withdrawal, comprised of drummer Jono Garrett (Mos Generator), guitarist/bassist, Nick Emde (Scarlet Sails and The Destro with Jono), and vocalist Mitchell Luna (Maruta and Noisear), were birthed from friends just playing music they love.

into the human psyche. Dropping on Brutal Panda (Kowloon Walled City, Whores, Fight Amp, Mantar, Norska, Ramming Speed, etc), the savagery contained is a visceral execution of manic voracity. Abrasive and combative, the music is fierce and can swing with any peers in grindcore. But the weight of the record lies in the lyrics. On “Nadir of Humanity” Luna bellows:

Yes, we all have the choice to strive for the best and to fight to overcome the obstacles that life throws at us and often there are attainable paths to self-improvement, but there are those who have been subjected to unimaginable misfortune and find themselves at the bottom of an endless, existential pit. Whether it be extreme poverty, accelerated health degradation, or a downward spiral of mental illness, these are who society for the most part views as undesirables.

“It’s funny because me and Jono have want“In a world where there is no motive to help ed to do a grind project together for literally fellow man because there is no profit to be forever. We have so many of the same ex- “Struggle at the bottom. made, it is easier to blame those who are Endurance test to suffer. treme music influences growing up. We were struggling for their own misfortunes as if it Embrace slow decay. fired up on the idea for years, but it took was a self-induced act. Not all of us are born Disproportion. me just kind of writing a bunch of ideas and with the same toolkits for survival, and as Subjected to forlorn. sending them off to him. I guess the timing humans, we tend to look away and dismiss This caste system. had to be right,” Emde notes. the problem rather than actually admitting Trapped in disheartenment” that there is something inherently wrong with Shock Withdrawal unfurls six tracks of brutal As global economics manifest a wider dichot- the system.” sonic fury entangled with insightful views

UNDEATH

Luna explains, “The lyrics are all about a person avoiding coping with past trauma. Being stuck on a loop of self-harm while simultaneously isolating themselves further from society. And (then) freezing up in fight or flight scenarios making every conflict worse. I think deep down, we take action to avoid or ignore the inevitability of death. That is why religions exist, so we can pretend that we are all more meaningful than we really are and look forward to ‘the afterlife.’ The thought of complete annihilation and non-existence is too vile of a thought to wrap your head around for most, so society fixates on trying to make sense of it. And then you know… greed. We humans love money, power, and fucking anyone over to get it. We also love punishing, disregarding, or killing others that don’t share our same worldview.” The perspective Luna puts forth is powerful, and Garrett and Emde, blasting through ravaging riffs and banging blast beats through headphones, add a terrifying atmosphere to the lyrics to drive home the points with crushing declaration. “Although I feel helpless at times, and there are things I wish I could do to improve this scenario, simply addressing it through this format does wonders for my mental health. I get to yell about it and no one will understand what I am saying anyhow,” he laughs. 💣

PHOTO Errick Easterday

INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST ALEXANDER JONES BY NICHOLAS SENIOR

What I love about Undeath is they are to he best part of metal is when you death metal what Scream is to slashers. They need pure escapism and gleeful know the rules but gleefully subvert them in sonic abandon. Few bands showcase ways that are interesting and funny. There’s that notion (with such uncanny knowledge of musical history) as Rochester’s finest, Un- also this emphatic New Wave of British death. On their sophomore record, It’s Time... Heavy Metal influence throughout. There’s To Rise From the Grave, out now via Prosthet- a clear desire to build beyond the established death metal formula. ic Records, Undeath hone in their brand of maximalist death metal, zombifying their sound to epic heights. Most notably, how- “I’m glad you picked up on the New Wave British Heavy Metal stuff because that inever, is how damn catchy and immediate fluence was really in the forefront of a lot It’s Time is. That was by design, as vocalist of our writing for this album,” says Jones. Alexander Jones acknowledges. “When we were writing Lesions, those were all just us trying to do our own thing, but “Like you said,” he adds, “you know what’s do those building blocks look like in a death “We take the music aspect of the band very we spent so many nights just listening to metal context? seriously. We’re all just fans of metal and of coming. You know you’re going to get the Morbid Angel and Cannibal Corpse and music in general. And I think when we go big dual-lead solo; you know you’re going Autopsy that those riffs and those ideas into the writing process for most of our stuff to get the huge chorus. But every single time, “That was the process for a lot of the writing kind of beat into our DNA. But with this the thing that’s at the forefront of our minds for the record was creating death metal pop the way that it hits you and the way that they album, I know Kyle and I specifically, we is, ‘Would we enjoy this as death metal fans? songs, in a way. And I’m stoked with how it tease it out and when they drop it, it’s just so were listening to a lot of Judas Priest. That If I saw a band playing these riffs or playing turned out because I think a lot of my favorite satisfying. And I think Kyle specifically had band is just such a shining example of these songs at a show, would it make me death metal albums like Morbid Angel’s Covea lot of conversations with himself and with how to construct a metal song. If you look want to party and throw down and mosh nant, Cannibal Corpse’s The Bleeding ... A lot of us where he was like, ‘How do we apply that at a record like Defenders of the Faith or and shit?’ That’s always what we’re trying rubric to a death metal song?’ Obviously, the songs have just straight-up pop structures. British Steel or Screaming for Vengeance, you can’t just play Judas Priest riffs tuned in to achieve. We just want people to have a They take you to the chorus, take you to the the songwriting on those albums was just good time, and I feel like the best way to do solo, and we’re out. That’s the shit that we A flat standard. It’s going to sound terrible fucking perfect. that is by having a good time yourself.” wanted to replicate.”💣 (laughs), but what does that look like? What

NEW NOISE 13

SUNDOWN INTERVIEW WITH BASSIST AND VOCALIST CARTER SEATON, GUITARIST AND VOCALIST MIKE ALLEN, GUITARIST AND VOCALIST BAKEHENRY, AND DRUMMER AND VOCALIST BRETT SIBLEY BY JOHN SILVA

ndianapolis, the second largest city in the Midwest—under the shadow of Chicago’s skyline—has a blossoming music scene. But music fans outside of Indy aren’t often exposed to the Circle City’s great bands and artists because they rarely tour.

gauge interest, the lineup was solidified, with Seaton on bass, Mike Allen and Bake Henry picking up guitars, and Seaton’s former bandmate Brett Sibley on drums. All four members share vocal duties, an approach that brings multiple perspectives to the songs.

“We have such a cool scene, but no one ever gets to see it except us,” laughs Mike Allen, of Indianapolis punk fourpiece Sundown. Sundown are one of the most talked about bands in Indianapolis right now, and that buzz is beginning to spill outside Indy and even outside the Midwest.

It’s easy to see why the band has been getting so much attention. They blend heavy and melodic so seamlessly that a broad range of alternative music fans can enjoy it. “We do have elements that appeal to people that are into hardcore; we have elements that appeal to people that are into metal, and people that are into pop punk. We kind of hit all the bases in a weird way” says Henry.

The band formed when bassist Carter Seaton decided he wanted to play in a band again. “I was having a bad day, and going through a lot of personal things,” he says, “I literally went down to my basement and just played acoustic guitar and belted out a couple Saves the Day, Jawbreaker, and Hot Water Music songs, and was like, ‘Fuck that felt so good.’ And I was like, ‘I wanna play music with people again.’” After Seaton made a Facebook post to

only hearing one of the best punk outfits in Indy, they’re hearing echoes of the city’s past. Now, it’s come full circle for the four Hoosiers—at the record release show for Keep Moving, they saw in the audience the same hometown heroes they looked up to years ago. “I looked out, and I see Brent (Schindler, from Gwen Stacey); I see Scott Wilson (of Demericus), Ben (Sutton) from In the Face of War,” says Seaton. “Right before the last part of the song “Keep Moving,” I look out into the crowd, and I see all these guys looking at me, these guys I looked up to when I was in high school … it was so sick.”

The band doesn’t need to look outside of Indianapolis to find an influence that hits that same sweet spot. “I wanted to do something with a bit more melody and shit,” Henry says. “One of my favorite bands of all time is from here, About the Fire. That was my biggest influence in the band.” PHOTO Pinkhat Beard

With influences like About the Fire, when people listen to Sundown, they’re not

MOON TOOTH

INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST JOHN CARBONE AND GUITARIST NICK LEE BY NICHOLAS SENIOR

p and down forever, different every time. This is a just a wavelength at the curving of its line.” That’s just one of a barrel-full of lyrical wisdoms from Moon Tooth’s excellent new record. Phototroph, out May 13 via Pure Noise Records, finds the Long Island band leaning even harder into their blues, classic rock, and country past. Phototroph is the musical equivalent of a Saturday night with longtime friends and a bottle of whiskey. There are some harsh truths here, but it’s an incredibly reflective, comforting, and uplifting record.

It feels like the entire Circle City is rooting for Sundown. They’re one of few recent bands to break out of Indy’s insulated music scene, and with so many local influences, they’re sharing Indianapolis everywhere they go. So, when Sundown come to your city, and you find yourself falling in love with them, look to this infamous Kurt Vonnegut quote to understand why: “All my attitudes are Indianapolis. My adenoids are Indianapolis. If I ever severed myself from Indianapolis, I would be out of business. What people like about me is Indianapolis.” 💣

off Long Island and a few of us had significant changes in personal lives and relationships. Those things compounded with the pandemic made it harder than ever to keep the band alive and vibrant but at the same time it made it clearer than ever that this is a thing we need to do to survive. We needed the band and each other more than ever to get through the last couple years. I think we leaned on each other more than ever to get through

some tough times, and that love permeated the music we were creating.” Phototroph is the “most” everything record Moon Tooth have written—most progressive, most melodic, heaviest—while also feeling like the least weird Moon Tooth creation yet. It’s like if The Dillinger Escape Plan got together with a thrash band to write a Skynard, ZZ Top, and Allman Brothers tribute record. Carbone expands on the record’s goals

and how they were different as the record went on: “It’s always about letting the songs do what they need to do. If you start trying to force a sound or a vibe, you’re gonna end up with something weaker, watered down. The big hooks and classic-rock vibes on this one surprised even us as we were making it. “It wouldn’t be surprising to imagine the next album sounding weirder in response to this. Like, ‘Alright, I’m sick of BBQ; let’s make lasagna for dinner tonight.’ We couldn’t have ever pre-designed how the mash up of our styles would sound. It just had to happen naturally. As an artist, it’s important to remember that you’re a lightning rod. You don’t make the lighting, but by being truly yourself, you give the lightning a place to exist in this world.” 💣

Vocalist John Carbone shares the band’s ethos: “One of our main goals has always been to be a comrade to anyone who needs it. What I’ve always loved about the blues is when you hear it, you hear something undeniably true, something that knows you like you know yourself. It says, ‘I know this is tough, but you’re not alone. So drink this whiskey, laugh or cry it off, and we’ll sing through this together.’ Though we don’t always sound like it, we’re a blues band in our DNA.” “We all went through pretty significant personal changes the last couple years,” guitarist Nick Lee adds. “A few of us moved

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PHOTO Jesse Korman

NEW NOISE 15

KREATOR NTERVIEW WITH BASSIST/VOCALIST FRÉDÉRIC LECLERCQ BY ADDISON HERRON-WHEELER

f there’s one thing at least most of us can agree on at this point, it’s that hate is entirely too prevalent in modern society and needs to be eradicated. Not a groundbreaking concept, one would think, but one that has been tested in recent years for sure. On the theme of overthrowing hate, newest Kreator band member, bassist and vocalist Frédéric Leclercq, has plenty to say relating that concept to the group’s latest record, Hate Über Alles, out via Nuclear Blast.

artistically, too. I think this new album is the best of both worlds because it keeps certain elements that the fans could find in the last two albums, but we also wanted to bring back some of the aggression and sense of urgency from the earlier years of the band. This is a very strong record, and I hope people will think the same.”

ing the U.S., too. It’s a little too early to tell but I’ve heard some options, some names … I’m really looking forward to touring the U.S. with Kreator for the first time.” While Leclercq doesn’t claim to take credit for the lyrics, he resonates with the meaning behind the new album. “A song like “Hate Über Alles,” for example, with the chorus speaking for itself: ‘Hate

is the virus of the world.’ You can take that sentence and apply it to many, many things happening right now, unfortunately. We also have a song called “Midnight Sun” inspired by the movie Midsommar. And then you’ve got “Become Immortal,” which tells the story of the band and its creation back in ’84, ’85. So there’s a lot of different themes lyrically, and that’s, to me, very interesting.” 💣

PHOTO Vince Sadonis

Kreator worked on the record in the summer of 2020, and then took time off before revisiting the material in 2021 and then heading to the studio. Like many bands, the slowness of music releases during COVID gave them a bit of extra time during the album.

“As the newest member of the band, and Hate Über Alles therefore being my first album with the band, you can imagine that this is all very exciting to me,” he says. “I can also tell you that the other guys are “If we’ve learned something with COVID, it’s that we should be careful with planalso very excited with this new album ning stuff, Leclercq laughs. “We had to because of newfound energy. Having a postpone our European co-headline tour new member on board is always very with Lamb of God three times! As of now, rejuvenating, and being in a new band it’s meant to happen in November or Deis also rejuvenating, so we all feel very cember of 2022. We are working on tourstrong and motivated as a band, and

UFOMAMMUT INTERVIEW WITH GUITARIST POIA AND BASSIST AND VOCALIST URLO BY ADDISON HERRON-WHEELER

t the beginning of 2020, longstanding drummer of psych outfit Ufomammut, Vita left the band after 21 years of the trio playing music together.

“Even if it was something we were expecting, it was a shock for us,” says vocalist Urlo. “We decided to stop for a while, to clean our wounds and see what we wanted to do in the future.” And as they were contemplating what it meant to lose a 20-plus-year bandmate, of course, the pandemic hit, and then the remaining bandmates were in lockdown. But slowly, they were able to pick the pieces back up with their new record, Fenice (or, fittingly, Phoenix in Italian), out May 6 via Neurot Recordings and Supernatural Cat. For the making of this new record, they added a new drummer, the missing ingredient for the trio minus one.

of a rebirth from the ashes of the first Ufomammut, but also for the changing of the World itself,” Urlo explains about the themes of the record. “The idea of the phoenix was the main one since the beginning, and we fought a lot to make it happen. We had to exploit all the possible moments we had to create music together, trying to do all we could to create and have this album done, and little by little, despite all the problems, we did it. It’s a very important album for us; it teaches us that we can do what we want if we believe in it.”

“The main reason why we are in a band is playing together, creating music in the most personal and satisfactory way,” adds bassist and vocalist Poia. “So, this urge has been even more pressing because of the events explained by Urlo. The creation has been pretty quick, despite the difficult times, but the actual publishing of new music is conditioned by more practical, “Ufomammut is a family, not only a band,” external factors … like finding the available recording studio or vinyl factory says Urlo. “It’s a little house, a very messy delivery times.” one where a lot of friends pass by, and Levre is one of these. We met him as a merch guy; we became friends. We start- Now that the record is out and the new lineup is well-established, they’re excited ed a side project together, and so it was to get back on the road. natural for Poia and me to ask him to join the band.” “I’m very curious about the new concerts,” says Poia. “We know that things are Initially, Fenice was just intended to be a long constantly changing, and time is passing song, but the band say it grew to become a by. But this time, there are even bigger full record. And the phoenix metaphor goes differences with our previous ‘incarnation.’ beyond just the rebirth of the band. We will find our way through this doing our best on stage, like always.” 💣 “Not only for our inside problems, the idea

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PHOTO Francesca De Franceschi Manzoni

NEW NOISE 17

FEARING INTERVIEW WITH GUITARIST/VOCALIST BRIAN VEGA AND GUITARIST JOEY CAMELLO BY PATRICK SHEUFELT

alifornia post-punk band Fearing has followed up their 2020 release, Shadow, in stellar fashion with a new EP, entitled Desolate. From the first note of the record the motives are clear and the execution is spot on. This work utilizes a different approach than their previous records, albeit maybe not entirely by choice.

“We all went through a lot of changes over the past few years,” says guitarist Joey Camello. “Brian moved to L.A. I went from having a regular job to working for myself for a while and then I eventually moved to L.A. too. A lot has been going on and we’ve managed to remain busy. Then record pressing is insanely backed up, and we considered going the lathecut route, but at the end of the day we decided, ‘Hey, there’s nothing else going on, we’re still a band. Let’s be a band and release some more music.’ So this one ended up as a digital release due to not wanting to wait around anymore.” Desolate absolutely oozes new wave vibes. Bowie, The Cure, Depeche Mode, and New Order all come to mind when hearing the reverb-soaked guitars and thumping pulsating bass, heavily sidechained to the unrelenting quarter note kick. It’s not industrial, and not goth, but it’s dark, it’s swirling, and it sounds dan-

gerous. You’ll be transported into some scene of a black, leather-clad villain, sitting in the smoke-laden air of that back room where all the shady deals that go down. This is bona fide post punk: the real deal, the essence of everything that sprang up from a beer-soaked New York dive stage and sought to take Ronald Reagan out back and beat him senseless with a Lexicon reverb unit.

to continue writing music on the road and at home, in anticipation of a larger recording project next year, and aims to bank up as much material as possible. “We’ve learned to write more than is needed and pick and choose the songs. This EP started as like 20 demos, which became 10 songs, of which four made the EP,” guitarist Brian Vega explains. From releases like Turnstile’s Glow On, to the resurgence of post-punk, renewed

interest in archaic 8-bit game systems, and America once again being imposed upon by an emergent period of culture too utterly strange to describe, the world of music has returned to some pretty fun engineering techniques. Oceans of reverb, snare tails a mile long, vocoders, layering, and all that analog synthy goodness seem to be retaking their hold in the mixing desks of the 2020’s and Fearing has delivered on this in a trueto-form fashion. 💣 PHOTO Muted Fawn

Fearing’s prior releases had all been done in collaboration with a producer or engineer. But after the last few projects being fraught with scheduling issues, and a general feeling of being rushed, the band decided to take their sound into their own hands and completely recorded this latest release at singer and bassist James Roger’s home in Napa, California. A most interesting and effective choice was made in pushing the vocals outside, with one voice in each speaker. Traditionally this is not something often done with the lead vocals, but in the track “Desolate” it works exceedingly well. The drums are allowed to freely dominate the center without obscuring the haunting duet of James and Brian. Fearing will be out on their longest tour yet, with Gatecreeper and 200 Stab Wounds this spring. The band has plans

WEIRD NIGHTMARE INTERVIEW WITH GUITARIST, KEYBOARD PLAYER, SONGWRITER, AND VOCALIST ALEX EDKINS BY J. POET

lex Edkins made his name as the guitarist, songwriter and vocalist of METZ, one of Canada’s best-known noise/post-rock bands. Since he was unable to rehearse and tour during the COVID lockdown, he decided to take the opportunity to work on a long postponed solo album, being released on Sub Pop on May 20. He calls the project Weird Nightmare and says the name has nothing to do with the pandemic.

“It’s just the working title I came up with. I was home all day with my son, who couldn’t go to school. At night, I’d record songs in the METZ rehearsal space. It’s usually a lively building, with tons of bands making a racket, but it was completely empty and silent. It was eerily quiet and strange, a familiar place that seemed alien at that time, which played into the title of the record. I was alone and it was just what I needed to escape from the pandemic. “I recorded into a computer for the most part, using no tape machines, except during the mixing. I don’t have a wide array of mics, so it was bare bones. The act of doing it myself was more important than making a hi-fi recording. I concen-

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trated on the songs and the process. With METZ, there’s a palette of chord structures that define our sound, along with the bass tones and drumming. I was steering away from that approach and using open chords and bar chords that I never play with METZ. “It moved the songs and melodies in a different way. For the most part, I pushed the volume to the limit when I recorded. There’s actually a fair amount of acoustic guitar on it, but it’s submerged in the texture of the electric guitars. I like to put a mic on the neck of the electric, close to where I was picking, to get a scraping, percussive element to the sound. I embraced more basic guitar techniques. When I hit on an open D chord, it felt great. It’s something I hadn’t done in years. “There’s a simplicity and power in rock and I wanted to capture that. I wrote big, hooky, catchy choruses and melodies. I never set out to do that before. I wanted to make something memorable and fun. It was my happy place. I didn’t have any grand ambitions. It was a coping mechanism that brought me a lot of pleasure.”

As promised, the songs on Weird Nightmare sport catchy choruses and memorable hooks, although they’re often submerged in layers of feedback drenched guitar noise. “The sound is pretty mellow, for me,” Edkins says with a laugh. “Most of my songwriting is pretty fast and aggressive. Some may think these are too, PHOTO Ryan Thompson

but there are moments when I take my foot off the gas a bit, trying new tempos and types of songs. I let the guitar lead the melody, and the melody dictate the tempo. I followed my gut and did what felt right each day. I gave the song what it needed. I had no idea what was going to come out. I played and wrote with zero limitations and expectations. It was a great feeling to have.” 💣

EVERGREY INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST AND GUITARIST TOM ENGLUND BY ADDISON HERRON-WHEELER

rolific is an understatement when it comes to Evergrey. The band have been at it for 13 albums now, and their new release, A Heartless Portrait (The Orphean Testament), out May 20 via Napalm Records, reveals that the band show no signs of slowing down. On this record, like many bands in 2022, their lyrics take a hard look at the direction of humanity.

“(A lot of the lyrics are) me being scared of where humanity is going because, I mean, we all use social media, but the younger ones of us have not necessarily had the education in terms of evaluating media,” vocalist and guitarist Tom Englund says. “I just want to sort of put it out there that you need to figure out who you are yourself before somebody else tells you who to follow.” Despite the fact that the band have a lot of music under their belt, they have no plans to slow down anytime soon. They have signed a contract with Napalm Records for three albums, so there will be more music after this one. The plan is to keep touring, keep making music, and ride their massive wave of success and interest for as long as possible.

“It’s just ridiculous to be honest,” laughs Englund when asked how he feels about the bands’ longevity. “I mean, I

figured if I was lucky, we would make three or four albums, and that would be that. Now I’ve been doing this for 13 albums, almost 30 years, that’s more than half my lifetime. I’m grateful that people are still interested, and we’re not huge, but we’re still climbing. It might be a slow upwards climb, but that means we never had a dip. We still get fans every album, and we don’t lose anyone.”

And while it’s true that they gain fans with each new record, Englund also cautions against having any assumed ideas about what this new offering from Evergrey is going to bring. “I think people have a sort of preconceived mind about things, and most of the time, they are wrong.” He adds, “So just take a chance. Listen to the record and you will figure out if you like it or not.” 💣

THE COCKS

INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST ZSA BY ADDISON HERRON-WHEELER

ost queer bands suffer from some type of queer exceptionalism, striving to be the very best in their genre and not just “good for a gay band,” while at the same time, working hard to spread an important message about the struggles against internalized and externalized homophobia. The Cocks, on the other hand, don’t worry about any of that and just have a whole lot of fun.

The band originally started as a happy accident, when a friend of vocalist Zsa, needed an original score for a short film. They had so much fun being a joke band for a movie that they decided to be a joke band for real. Their 2021 record, Loads of Fun, was released via Nuthing Sacred, featuring songs with titles such as “Gonna Suck Dick,” “I Love Dick,” and “It’s Better Being Gay.” “I think one thing we need in the world right now is playfulness, you know?”

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Zsa muses. “I think someone who sees one of our videos might just think we are a parody act or a novelty thing. But really listen to the record; it’s pretty good poppy rock music.” With influences like The Ramones, The Milkmen, and the Dickies, The Cocks marry a strong understanding of what makes catchy, accessible punk good with the hilarious ability to write endless songs on the subject of gay sex. While that is certainly a brilliant formula, Zsa also admits it’s an acquired taste. “Don’t get me wrong; there are always a few jaws on the floor after we play a bunch of songs about sucking

“I think the humor genre works well to get across to people,” he says. “My feeling is, the people who come across us, most will go, ‘What the hell is this?’ And then one out of every 10 of them is going to go, ‘That’s actually pretty cool.’ Even if it’s not your jam, you have to appreciate the artistry there and the fact that it’s fun. You have to have the light and dark; you have to have balance. You cocks and whatnot,” he laughs. “And I get the people who are doing the think there’s also a lot of segregation serious protest music, so you have within the gay community. For ex- to have the light-hearted version of ample, queens generally aren’t into that, because there are people who the kind of music we play, you know might react better to it or have a what I mean? There is definitely a barrier against the serious messagdrag and punk community within the es. You have to get it under the gun; LGBTQ world, and then there’s the under the radar.” leather crowd—the leather crowd loves us. We’re just going for more Keep following The Cocks this year acceptance and for everyone to for more music and adventures, including Monkees-style mini-series, have a good time.” to be called We Are the Cox. The He also feels that, since so many show will take place with the guys queer bands are—and rightly so— living in an apartment, being gay, focused on the dark horrors facing and trying to make it in rock ‘n’ roll. our community, their brand of hu- The world definitely needs more mor is needed to serve as a form of Cocks, and it’s going to get them. 💣💣💣 escape and education.

Number 10 in FAT’s Live in a Dive series, captured live in Eindhoven, NL in 1989! CD & LP out June 3rd!

Reissue of the classic 2002 album, available on yellow vinyl! LP & digital (includes 7 bonus tracks) out June 24th!

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Reissue on 10” vinyl, available now!

LIFE IN THE STOCKS: VERACIOUS CONVERSATIONS WITH MUSICIANS & CREATIVES (VOLUME II)

INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR AND PODCASTER MATT STOCKS BY SEAN MCLENNAN

“I

’m always just keen to get inside the inspiration that makes people tick, whether they’re artists or just human beings … I just want to learn about them and from them. That has always been my driving force and guiding light.” Matt Stocks is a name you may or may not be familiar with, but one thing is for sure: If you were to browse through his extensive catalog of work, you’d most likely be wondering how the hell you’ve never heard of him—if that were the case. In short, Matt Stocks is a U.K.-based podcaster, writer, DJ, presenter, and a DIY champion through and through. He’s achieved 250 episodes with his personal podcast, Life In The Stocks, which he began in 2017 and features unedited, in-depth, candid conversations with musicians, actors, comedians, and creatives. Furthermore, over the course of the past year, he’s accumulated 50 soul-stirring episodes with Stoke The Fire, a more profound podcast he co-hosts with Jesse Leach (Killswitch Engage, Times Of Grace).

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Stocks: Veracious Conversations with Musicians & Creatives (Volume I), released back in December of 2020. Volume II will be made available March 29, 2022, and Volume III is currently in the works.

Digging a bit deeper, Stocks is committed to uncovering ways to connect with people through meaningful conversation—expressed through his punk-rock filter, of course. His genuine nature, “What the book projects allow me to mindfulness, and ability to navigate do is cherry-pick the best of my faconversation, has allowed for both vorite episodes and present them his guests and himself, to connect on in a way that if you’re going to a deeper level. read the book from cover to cover, you’re gonna to get exposed “I just love people. I’ve always been to new people—even if they’re sociable. I’ve always been outgoing. widely known—they just might not I’ve always been intrigued and kind be known to you,” says Stocks. “And of sympathetic to other people’s that’s really what I love about putstories and their struggles, and ting the books together, is looking that’s just from having a life that’s at it like a greatest hits collection.” been fairly colorful myself,” says Stocks. “I can relate to people Guests featured on Life In The who’ve had to overcome pain and Stocks include Rob Halford, Gene live with heartache.” Simmons, Tommy Lee, Tom Morello, Yelawolf, Zakk Wylde, Frank TurnFast forward to early 2020, just er, Lars Frederiksen, Nita Strauss, before the pandemic, when a ser- Vinnie Stigma, Tommy Chong, Jaz endipitous meeting between Stocks Coleman, Jerry Cantrell, Tom Green, and Tyson Cornell, Founder/Owner Robb Flynn, Mina Caputo, B-Real, of Rare Bird Books, took place. Chuck D, and hundreds more. This ignited Stocks’ journey of transcribing select episodes from his personal podcast and compiling them into a three-volume book series—the first of which, Life In The

Although some of these names are more easily recognizable, as Stocks mentioned, there’s a wealth of guests who are well-known, just maybe not to you, and through my

personal experience, those are some of the richest connections that await the reader or listener. What Stocks’ work offers, both with his podcasts and now with his books, is a diverse collection of unique perspectives from people who’ve dedicated their lives to creative endeavors—many of whom lived hell-for-leather (respectfully). Stocks taps into these stories with honor and grace, allowing for beautiful reflections and thought-provoking moments to shine through. The opportunity to either learn from the text or connect to it is there in spades, for better or for worse. With that in mind, Stocks states: “If I come away from a conversation feeling like I understand more about my life after it, then that’s the ultimate goal. Because then hopefully I know that somebody else will listen to it, or read it, and think more about their own engagement with the world as a result. And that is the testament to the power of conversation.” 💣💣💣

DIY SPOTLIGHT

…AND OUT COME THE BOOBS INTERVIEW WITH CO-FOUNDER HANNAH MCFAULL BY KEEGAN WILLIAMS Faull says bluntly. “They lean toward the pastel, the floral, and the yuck. At a time in your life when your body is undergoing significant change, and how you feel about it is changing all the time, being forced to wear terrible clothes is an awful feeling.” They kicked off the idea about four years ago with 15 customized, up-cycled shirts and a “poorly designed” Etsy store, and the growth since has been “the steepest learning curve you can imagine,” according to McFaull.

person’s life dramatically changes once they become a parent, but that’s not to say new parents become completely new people or lose their sense of self as soon as they welcome a little one to the world.

…And Out Come The Boobs co-founders Hannah McFaull and April Hobbs started the company as two punk moms who had trouble finding

really any rad shirts they find or receive via donation, sometimes printing their own to account for inclusive sizing and even partnering directly with bands to customize batches of shirts. McFaull says at the heart of anything good is community, and that they have found a community of misfit parents, just like her and April, who love music and are “just trying to raise kids who aren’t assholes.” They cite that it only became legal to publicly breastfeed in all 50 states in 2018, and until lactating new parents are supported, it will continue to be tough. McFaull says new parents will only be able to truly express who they are when they live in a world that welcomes their choices.

“We started with our own personal need for clothes to wear that made it easier to get our boobs out,” McFaull says. “Neither of us had run a business before. I worked for prison abolitionist nonprofits in fundraising and communication. April was a seamstress, “Anything that makes it easier and bartender, pin-up model—she’s a more welcoming for people to live human of many talents!” their true authentic lives is good by us. And that’s us helping new parents feel “Clothing options for pregnant and They’ve since sewn more than 1,000 more like themselves while they feed lactating parents are mostly shit,” Mc- zippers into band shirts, sport shirts, their babies.”💣💣💣 clothing to feed their babies that also made them feel like themselves. They knew other people must feel the same way and started the company, named for the famed Rancid album, to help lactating parents reclaim their punk identities, one customized, up-cycled shirt at a time.

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INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT

PHOTO Jason Carlson Photography

INTERVIEW WITH OWNER AND OPERATOR NIKKI LAW BY SEAN MCLENNAN

BREAKING THE LAW PR BREAKING THE LAW PR BREAKING THE LAW PR

ublic Relations means exactly what it says: relationships with the public, and when it comes to the tasks at hand, there’s no one who knows the work quite like Nikki Law. For the many who might not know, Law is a music PR extraordinaire—one who’s managed many label operations beyond that title.

With over a decade worth of experience in the music industry, Law has worked for some of the biggest labels in heavy metal, including both Century Media Records and Metal Blade Records. She’s headed campaigns and provided collective support for major

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metal artists such as Arch Enemy, At The Gates, Paradise Lost, Tribulation, Amon Amarth, Whitechapel, Cannibal Corpse, Cattle Decapitation, The Black Dahlia Murder, and many more. Now, Law is the owner and operator of her own public relations service, Breaking The Law PR. Her wealth of knowledge and understanding of label operations, specifically within the realm of publicity, have helped fuel her latest freelance endeavor and allow her to expand and evolve beyond solely representing metal artists. Law credits her father as being the spark that ignited her love for heavy music. “I wouldn’t say he’s a

do real work. “I worked on tour publicity for Century Media, most tours really—in a way I was sort of a publicity assistant … I learned a lot,” says Law. Once her internship at Century Media ended, Law went on to intern for Nuclear Blast Records. “They let me intern, and I was essentially doing the same sort of stuff, tour press, trying to get coverage for local shows, and that was a great experience.” This was all while simultaneously working at Starbucks and as an administrative assistant. “Eventually, I was hired by Century Media to do tour publicity, so it was like my internship directly played into what I was hired for.” From there, CM grew their PR team, and Law was promoted to product manager and publicist. Century Media (U.S.) were acquired by Sony, and the writing was on the wall. “I knew I needed to find something else, and a former colleague actually told Metal Blade Records about me, so they reached out, and I got the job,” says Law. From 2015 until 2021, Law worked as director of publicity at Metal Blade, obtaining 20+-plus magazine covers, as well as TV appearances and radio coverage for assigned artists and worked with media to obtain “viral” content. Law spent countless hours around the clock to make sure campaigns ran smoothly, dedicating her time to both her artists and the label. As time passed, she followed her urge to branch off and launch into the next phase of her career.

metalhead, but he does like some of the more classic metal stuff like Judas Priest, Iron Maiden-a lot of hair metal bands. So when we were growing up, he’d give me some of those kinds of albums, but he mainly gave them to my brother.” However, at one point, “I started taking them as well, and I started ripping music on to my computer. I just got more and more into extreme music; then I started buying the albums myself,” Law recalls. Her introduction into the music industry was obtaining an internship at Century Media while attending college. Law recalls getting to

With a roster that includes Undeath, Arch Enemy, Herman Li (Dragonforce), Corpsegrinder, Midnight, Decibel Magazine, Haunt, Night Demon, and more, the diversity that Law was seeking already shines through at Breaking The Law PR— and this is only the beginning. Law explains with excitement, “Everything I’m releasing, I personally believe in, and I’m excited about (it), and I want others to be excited about it. I can’t say I’ve ever been in that situation before.” She continues, “You know, just building anything up from the bottom level is scary. This is my own business, and I take it really seriously. It’s my name on it; there’s no one else, just a one-woman company, and I don’t want to let anybody down.” 💣💣💣

HARDCORE LIFERS guess everybody’s got a little bit of imposter syndrome about things they do in their lives. “Looking back, I think there is clear evidence that the chemistry was special. I had never really allowed myself to go, ‘I was, a part of some really, really incredible things.’ I helped some amazing people make records that mean a lot to a lot of people. And did I never allow myself to enjoy that? I can see that these records didn’t only mean a lot to me and the bands I made them with, but they mean a lot to the people that have bought them and listened to them and got the logos tattooed on their arms. I am able to see it in a way that I was never able to see it before. I’m really appreciative about that.” According to McTernan, “In The Shadow Of Who You Thought I was” is one of the most revealing songs he’s written. “I’ve really been hesitant to admit that I’m not OK, and the way that I’ve been living my life is not OK. The person I know myself to be is in stark contrast to the person people have thought that I was for most of my life.” He elaborates, “I’m not famous, right? I’m not implying that (I am), but there is this perception of me, in our little music microcosm, as this fearless and strong person that’s really tough on bands, the person that makes bands cry in the studio and sends Chuck Ragan to take singing lessons. PHOTO JC Carey

BE WELL INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST BRIAN MCTERNAN BY JOSHUA MARANHAS

himself every day, he says, “by sharing ello Sun, out May 20 on Revelation his inner most fears and flaws,” but also Records, is the culmination of a storied life and career. Vocalist and songwrit- allowing him to take joy in his “strengths, friendships, and accomplishments.” er, Brian McTernan, says it’s some of his best work. He’s at the point in life of taking a deep mental inventory of the music he’s “This is our first record with Revelation, which is really, really exciting for me,” he shares. “I written and records he’s made with other artists, as well as childhood trauma, depres- think everybody in the band grew up listening to Revelation Records. It’s been nice to sion, and fatherhood. have our primary contact over there be Sammy Siegler (Judge, Youth of Today, Rival “I can’t think of anything I’ve ever have done that has been quite as rewarding,” Schools, etc.). He really comes from the same place that we are coming from. He’s McTernan says. “Honestly, if it all ended not only been a good logistical partner with right now, doing this band has been one of the best things I have ever done for myself. the label stuff, but he’s had some great creative ideas and feedback about what songs It feels like borrowed time, getting to make music, travel the world, make new friends. went on the record.” It’s all something I never thought I would do For a writer, producer, and musician, Mcagain. It’s also been an incredible medium Ternan doesn’t think every element of the to express a lot of feelings and emotions that process is as easy as he makes it look. From I had struggled to express otherwise.” REV047, the Texas is the Reason seven-inch, to REV194, this Be Well EP, there’s still a chalRecord making with Be Well is a reflective lenge after 20-plus years and many, many and healing process for McTernan, as much records for labels, including Revelation. as it’s a band playing high energy melodic hardcore. The name be well may even be a mantra. It stands tall. Nothing is perfect, “I don’t know that all of it is fun,” he admits. but exploring imperfections is a great way “The recording part can be a little stressful at to start learning, building, and being better. times. Writing and tracking is a lot of pressure alone, so once you add in that we are Be Well are getting Brian closer to finding

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“Ultimately, who I am is someone that’s been in a lot of pain for a huge amount of my life. Even at the best of times, I have struggled, and I have felt pretty bad about myself for a long time. Trying to be Brian McTernan, recording and mixing it ourselves, as well as the name on the back of the records, has how deeply personal the lyrics are, it can been exhausting. I just need to be the friend, be a lot. That being said, having new music recorded is my favorite thing in the world. father, and human being that lives my life. I did myself a lot of damage by trying to be I love having new songs to listen to, having somebody I wasn’t for a long time and letthings to play people, and knowing that the ting what people thought of me shape how I things we have made will live forever. felt about myself.” “The crazy thing is that we have at least a The deep admissions that McTernan makes whole other record written. I think we kind here are held like a time capsule in the of decided, ‘Let’s just write songs because grooves of Hello Sun with a Revelations we love writing songs, not because we need Records number over 100 from where it all records.’ It’s kind of nice to be sitting on so much material. I have witnessed that pres- started at Salad Days Studio, and even before. sure so many times in the studio. It’s hard because you put out a record and then tour “I think that this record for me is much more for a year and a half, and then, suddenly, of an acknowledgement that I need help. I need friends. I need people around me that you have a three-month window to write love me and believe in me. I can’t get better. and record the next one. It just puts so much I can’t get to the place that I want to get to pressure on the bands, the songs, and the alone and I don’t need to. I think the biggest record as a whole. I always want to have a takeaway from The Weight And The Cost … little bit of a stockpile.” well, before it came to life and the world, my thought was that people were gonna think McTernan takes the listener through the I was crazy. I felt like a lot of people that in album, adding context, making Hello Sun my life would think badly of me and would gave McTernan as fresh perspective on think that it was a very negative, dark record his career. in that way.” “I think one of the real unintentional bonuses The response was completely opposite and of doing the Be Well record was talking to so surprising to McTernan. many people about all of the other records that I had made in my life as a producer. He says, “Be Well exists in this world as a That’s what the song ‘I Will Leave You With positive thing, which makes me so happy. I This’ is about.” think that we’ve always had a little bit of that juxtaposition; the lyrics are really heavy, but He gives more context: “I don’t think I had ever zoomed out to look at it all together, it’s also saying things out loud that are pretty universally felt. That doesn’t need to be a the cumulative effect of how I’ve spent negative. It was a positive for me to be able my life. I just remember doing podcasts to have the community that could hear that, with people. They’d pull up my Wikipedia see it, and see me. I feel, in many ways, for page while we’re doing the interview, and I could see their face—‘Wow, this is crazy.’ the first time as myself, rather than person I tried to be for so long.” 💣💣💣 On my worst days, I felt like a phony, but I

BERTHOLD CITY INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST ANDREW KLINE BY HUTCH

ndrew Kline is a straight LA Hardcore legend. Hell, forget the geographical qualifier; the man is a hardcore legend. Period. But he doesn’t rest on his laurels and sticks to the ‘comeback’ circuit. Yes, his OG band, Strife, who helped define 90s hardcore, still does shows, including the mid-May East Coast California Takeovers with Earth Crisis and Snapcase. But Kline also runs WAR Records, putting out new bands and old friends, such as Terror, React!, Reality Slap, RVA’s Enforced, xABSTAINx, Fixation, Miracle Drug, and more. He also plays in supergroups World Be Free and Berthold City.

Berthold City’s new record, When Words Are Not Enough, was released through WAR Records, and despite the bands’ veteran status, it represents a turning point for hardcore. “Still Holding On,” a standout track from the new record, dives into Kline’s motivation to keep screaming these days. “Hardcore had been such an important part of my life,” Kline elaborates. “(The song) is about acknowledging everyone that has weathered the storm and is still here playing music, doing a label, or supporting the scene by going to shows. Over the years, I’ve seen so many people come and go, and it’s hard to see people turn their back on things that seemed so important to them in the past. “I think the music and the message found in hardcore is such a beautiful and positive thing, and that’s why I fight to continually make music, releases records, or just support new bands.”

PHOTO Michael Thorn

wave of hardcore- There’s a significantly larger femme and POC presence than ever in punk, and they are actively defining it more so than just being a higher percentage point in population. The L.A. and NorCal scenes are raging. Boston is killer. Society is processing a tumultuous time, and hardcore is responding more appropriately than ever.

That sincerity and adoration is palpable on When Words are Not Enough. Each member’s performance is stellar, one of the fiercest records from a hardcore band recently. Kline did not slack in writ- “I think hardcore is in a great place with ing or recording. bands like End It, Buggin, Change, Method of Doubt, Dare, Mindforce, Drain, etc. Kline explains the band’s process: “I It’s great to see new bands popping up write all of the music for Berthold City. all over the world that are all unique. It’s When I started writing the album, I had also great to see career bands like Terror, a goal to write a song a day. I had a Madball, Agnostic Front, and Ignite still guitar and bass that I would leave out out there touring heavily and continuing in my living room and then, every day, I to release music,” says Kline. would pick an instrument up with a goal of writing a song. The plan wasn’t to really When Words are Not Enough lands with overthink things, but just to start coming the punch (and vocal delivery) of Youth up with ideas. I would sometimes write full Of Today with the swagger of Count songs, or just write an intro or a verse and Me Out, mixed with the L.A. attitude of chorus, and then I would go back over the Internal Affairs. Berthold City cultivates songs that I felt had the most potential and Kline’s experience and songwriting of work on them a bit more.” three decades and filters it through his ardent reflection of those three decades. This passion is emblematic of the current But 2022 is a vastly different landscape

“I THINK THE MUSIC AND THE MESSAGE FOUND IN HARDCORE IS SUCH A BEAUTIFUL AND POSITIVE THING, AND THAT’S WHY I FIGHT TO CONTINUALLY MAKE MUSIC, RELEASES RECORDS, OR JUST SUPPORT NEW BANDS.” for underground music. Many older hardcore aficionados complain about social media and YouTube detracting from live shows (people standing still with a phone or not going at all and watching shows at home, etc).

can all work on being more present in our lives and should pay attention a bit more to what is in front of us instead of what is on social media.” And while oil barrel prices escalate and resources demand more capital, Kline accepts the cost of running a label, but cannot deny the allure to spread the word.

Kline ingests the current audience and moves forward in the only way which he knows. “I think social media has its place. It’s a great way for bands to gain expo- “Running a label is tough. Pressing plants are delayed, and the costs of manufacsure. It really helps highlight regional bands to the world.” Kline is quick to vali- turing continue to go up. I do a label because I love it, and because I really date that, though. “NOTHING will capture want to help out up-and-coming bands. the energy of a hardcore band in a live So far, it has been really rewarding, so I setting, so I really don’t think live videos will continue to push on!” 💣💣💣 detract from shows. That being said, we

NEW NOISE 27

HARDCORE LIFERS PHOTO Sid Tang

the new Mastodon record, or say, the new Gojira record, those are perfect examples of something that really resonated with me as fan. If I wrote down everything I love and then gave them a list—it felt like that. Hearing those records was really inspiring. I don’t want Gojira to sound like Radiohead. I want it to sound like Gojira! “We’re still that band that’s gonna rage and that’s gonna deliver the same caliber of music that you’ve been jamming to for the last 15 years. We just need to be Cancer Bats and we need to write the shit out of a Cancer Bats record.” The band didn’t play any live shows aside from two acoustic concerts in their home city of Winnipeg last year. Not only did this keep them somewhat refreshed, but it also revealed something important to Cormier about the band. “We did that, and that’s the closest thing that we’ve come to playing a show,” he recalls. “That was amazing, too. To even just get to play with different musicians and to change up the Cancer Bats dynamic was super refreshing and really fun. It really opened our eyes to the possibility of moving forward. The Cancer Bats can be anything.”

CANCER BATS

It’s with this new perspective and reignited energy that the band is moving forward, ready to blaze across Canada and the rest of the world.

“I feel really ready for these shows and to tear it up—and I know the rest of the guys are too,” he says enthusiastically. “The shows are selling out, and people really love the first two songs we’ve put out. I feel more confident now than I INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST LIAM CORMIER BY GEN HANDLEY have in a really long time. It feels iam Cormier is gushing about his now through the band’s very own Cancer Bats so special. They tried really good.” 💣💣💣 relatively new home of Halifax, imprint, Bat Skull Records, and the to empathize, putting themselves Nova Scotia. first as a trio after founding member into the fans’ shoes while questionand guitarist Scott Middleton left last ing the direction of the band. “I just moved here in 2019 and I highly year. In truly Canadian fashion, it recommend it,” the Cancer Bats lead was a civil break. “I was skateboarding a ton and I singer says. “I was living in Toronto skate with all these old guys that for about 15 years, and I came out “We had talked to Scott and got listen to Melvins, old Metallica, old here traveling and was like, ‘Oh the impression that he was just not White Zombie and I thought, “Why man, this place is amazing.’ There’s into this, and he agreed,” Cormier are these dudes still listening to this tons happening here. There’s great explains. “It was really chill in that years later?” It was cool to have that music. There’s a great art community. way, that it wasn’t like a big, weird time to reflect and ask those things There’s tons of cool fashion. It’s an fight, which was nice. It made mov- for the new album. You can really inspiring place to live.” ing forward with the record really question what you should be doing.” positive, and it just really fired us up, It is this satiating environment where and want to take it seriously. It was a He continues, “When you’re like, Cormier locked himself down for cool transition.” ‘Oh man, this is our seventh record. the duration of the pandemic and Should we be trying to, like, Radiohelped write the Cancer Bats’s sev- When making this record, Cormier head it and do something comenth record, Psychic Jailbreak, out says they tried to distill what make pletely different? When you put on

28 NEW NOISE

FIELD DAY

Nasty’s dynamic, signature melodic hardcore punk sound. “We like writing songs and singing and performing, and we wanna challenge ourselves,” Carrion explains. “And part of that is not going so far out where we turn fans off, but we’re expanding our range of what we’re capable of doing and what we think, first and foremost, is cool.” He marvels, “What’s amazing is that’s in 2022, that’s current. I’m not talking about songs I wrote in 1988. So, it’s kinda wild.”

like, ‘Oh shit, they keep doing records. Those guys keep touring. Those guys are pretty crazy,’” he laughs. “So, we are really happy about the response and humbled at the same time. Nobody in the band takes things for granted.” Explaining how he and Cortner evolved from getting back together in 2019 to play some live shows featuring the Wig Out material, he says, “Peter and I really wanted to continue the story, so we just kinda kept going. And we love the old songs! We wrote ‘em! We played on the records. We toured them. Iconic. We realize how important they are to fans and to us.

“The motto in the band is to be humble, and don’t suck. So, we take that motto literally. That’s freaking gospel. We put everything into the live shows and “But at the same time, there’s more to everything into the recording. We throw the story, so in a way, we’re continuing the kitchen sink at it. And, as a result, to embrace the previous work and people gravitate towards that. At first, then, at the same time, push ourselves people might say, ‘Oh, those guys are forward to creating new songs.” He just trying to do a cash grab,’ or, ‘Those continues, “That’s the balance. And guys are just trying to do a reunion and it’s fun, and it’s very exciting because why should I see this?’ And then they’re five years ago, I would’ve said that

INTERVIEW WITH BASSIST DOUG CARRION BY JANELLE JONES

ield Day’s latest record is out now, the four-song, seven-inch WHY?, via Unity Worldwide Records and Sense of Place Records. Bassist Doug Carrion and vocalist Peter Cortner, who played on Dag Nasty’s 1987 classic Wig Out at Denko’s and 1988’s Field Day, are joined by guitarist Shay Merhdad and drummer Kevin Avery. And as this record showcases, the four-piece are flawlessly carrying on the mantle of Dag PHOTO Alan Snodgrass

story’s over. I wouldn’t have thought that I would’ve gotten back with Peter Cortner, and we were gonna start a new band called Field Day, and were gonna release music. “Creating the spirited, compelling WHY? seven-inch “came about out of really wanting to continue or expand our aperture of writing and creating wonderful songs for people and getting out there and doing shows,” he says. As has been the case for Field Day’s previous releases, Carrion produced the record, and it was mixed by Cameron Webb (Motorhead/ Ignite/Pennywise). In 2021, Field Day played 28 shows, including two sets at Punk Rock Bowling. So far this year, they’ve played shows in Southern California in February and hit cities in Florida in March. Next up, they are planning on touring the

Midwest if everything goes according to plan, around Mother’s Day. The band are also hard at work writing their first full-length of all-new material. They are “five songs into the next batch of songs,” and Carrion predicts a possible 2023 release. In addition to all this, they have an album titled Acquisition coming out. With a release date hopefully towards the end of this year, it’s “a reissue of all the songs we’ve done thus far plus two unreleased tracks,” Carrion reveals, saying the idea stemmed from fans who had been asking the band if there’d ever be a release with all their material—which so far consists of seven-inches and EPs—on one piece of vinyl. Summarizing it all, he says, “We’re just really having fun, trying to put out good music, do great live shows, and appreciate the people who wanna come out and support that.” 💣💣💣

NEW NOISE 29

HARDCORE LIFERS PHOTO Joe Calixto

compare this to their earlier EP, Lowest of the Low, in how it has “this same element, but Pain into Power pushes it to a new level. This record does not let up.” A favorite track on Pain into Power for Vogel is “Unashamed.” He says, “the energy is perfect, in my eyes. It’s just got all the cool elements I love in a Terror song, and the breakdown hits fucking hard.” The LP also contains notable features from an array of heavy-hitting vocalists, including guest appearances from Crystal Pak (Initiate), Madison Watkins (Year of the Knife), George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher (Cannibal Corpse), and Todd Jones (Nails). There’s plenty of raw versatility present. Vogel adds, “no one needs to hear me over and over on all these songs. Some good guest spots always add a cool element to records and Terror has always been a big fan of them on our releases. Much thanks to all who lent their voice on Pain into Power.” The title of the record holds a heavy sentiment as well. Vogel describes the title’s significance as how “we all will encounter pain. This world is cruel and hard. Don’t let it break you. Turn your pain into power, tragedy to triumph. That’s kind of what we are expressing here.”

A DARKER ALBUM FOR A DARKER WORLD

INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST SCOTT VOGEL BY JAMES MUDRAK

iving in a world of uncertainty, pain is bound to ensue. Through that pain is what gives a new perspective. Twenty years into their career, that is exactly what legendary Los Angeles hardcore band, Terror plans to deliver with their skull crushing new record, Pain into Power. Packed with an aggression and force unlike any of its predecessors, this album is bound to destroy venues across the world.

“It’s always crazy to think we have made it to the twenty-year mark. It’s been a wild ride. Still loving it, sometimes hating it too, but this is my life and I have much to be thankful for,” says vocalist Scott Vogel. Vogel explains Terror’s consistency and success as “accepting who and what we are. We are comfortable being a hardcore band. We have ups and downs and ride them out– never letting the huge fests get to our heads and staying grounded and still loving a basement show or a show with no stage. We still love this scene and what it

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means. We still check for the young bands to keep up to speed on the energy of now, and at the same time, we don’t chase trends or mold to the times. We are Terror and always will be, and I think people appreciate that.”

and some other fun stuff. Maybe this was all to make us feel somewhat in our norm while watching the world eat itself alive. I personally moved back to Buffalo after about 20 years in L.A. and have tried to make the best inside the worst times I’ve seen.”

It was never for the clout, but all for the genuine love of the game. This goes to say that even a giant needs its rest. After the release of their 2018 LP Total Retaliation, Terror took a break from the scene to later reunite in 2021. Vogel describes that period as a moment where “the band was more forced into a break, and to be honest, Terror is always so active and relentless it probably did us all some good. I wish it was under better circumstances, but sometimes you can’t see what’s coming until it hits.”

This period also brought back a familiar face into the mix. OG band member, producer, guitarist, and renaissance man, Todd Jones, emerged from the mists of the past to produce Pain into Power. Vogel’s says, “Todd is a fucking madman. He brought so much to this record. Not just his energy alone, but so many ideas in all directions. Todd, myself, and Nick started Terror, so it was pretty wild to have him be a part of this record twenty years later. I hope he comes to a show at some point, and we can get him on stage to jam a few of these songs.”

Vogel continues with assuring that, “as always, Terror did still persevere through the madness– we recorded some covers, released old songs that have been buried, did a session called Trapped in a World,

Now the moment we’ve all been for is just right around the corner for Terror’s eighth studio album, Pain into Power. Vogel describes Pain into Power as “unrelenting brutality from start to finish.” Listeners can

Terror’s lyrical content is often composed of juxtaposing lyrics elaborating on the negative while combating it with a positive outlook. Pain into Power takes a different approach. It resembles an outlook on the negativity of life and the current state of the world with little-to-no positivity. It’s like a raging bull being let out from its cage– never ceasing to stop its rage. Vogel says, “it was hard to find anything positive to express on this record. There are small hints, but far and few in between. The lyrics on this record are darker because the world has darkened, and I feel less and less hope. I have always wanted to keep Terror a positive band, but in 2022 that has become tough if I’m being honest. We are living in a nightmare that will not stop. The support, creativity, friends, family, and the passion is what that keeps us going in the times of darkness.”💣💣💣

No great hardcore interview is complete without some shoutouts. Vogel also wanted to show his love and appreciation for his fellow comrades in hardcore by shouting out “COMBUST. VIOLENT WAY. KING NINE. DARE. RESTRAINING ORDER. SECTION H8. CHANGE. DBD. DEATH THREAT. NEVER ENDING GAME. NO RIGHTS. BERTHOLD CITY. RINGWORM. YEAR OF THE KNIFE. EXHIBITION. PURE HEEL. HUMAN ANIMAL. SPY. SPEED. PAIN OF TRUTH. MINDFORCE. I could do this forever. There is so much good HC going on right now– go out and get some of it.”

KILL YOUR IDOLS INTERVIEW WITH GUITARIST GARY BENNET T II BY JANELLE JONES

later. We are planning on doing a split with The Path from Vermont.” He also mentions that Blackout! Records is going to release a vinyl boxset of their old catalogue. Additionally, KYI are going to keep playing shows when they can.

For those unfamiliar with the trajectory of the band, they broke up in 2007 and then reunited in 2013 for the annual NY hardcore fest Black N’ Blue Bowl. In the interim, the guys had been doing their own things, “settling into whatever jobs we were doing and new projects, new music, stuff that was taking priority over KYI,” Bennett explains. “KYI is much too special of a band to us than doing half-ass, so we decided to put it to rest rather than have it be an afterthought.”

ill Your Idols have released a split seven-inch featuring fellow Long Islanders Rule Them All via Flatspot Records and entitled Simple, Short, & Fast. This release marks the band’s first new songs in nearly 15 years, and, if these are But the reception at that show was so a taste of what’s to come, we’re in for an insane, they could see themselves doing impressive, super-hard-hitting ride. But the band again. “Maybe we can just exist we shouldn’t have expected anything less and pop up once in a while,” they thought. from these titans of NYHC who started “Then we don’t have to take the focus off playing back in 1995. anything we’re doing.”

“We have big, big plans,” says guitarist and founding member Gary Bennett II. “Once we started writing the music during the pandemic, we just got delusions of grandeur. ‘Oh, we’re gonna do a full-length, and we’re gonna do a split with this band, and we’re gonna do a split with that band.’ Turns out it’s not as easy for us to make this happen as we thought it would be.”

And once they got back together, the guitarist says, “We’ve talked about writing (new songs) and Vinnie (Value, longtime

KYI drummer) was the biggest proponent of it,” he continues, “And then when he passed away (in 2020), right before he passed away, we were like, ‘Let’s put our noses to the grindstone. We’re gonna write new stuff and we’re gonna put new stuff out.’ And then he passed.” After that tragedy, they got Corallo to “fill in for the Gorilla Biscuits show we had planned,” Bennett mentions. A mainstay in the scene and who also plays in Sheer Terror alongside Bennett, incorporating Corallo into KYI was a no-brainer. “I know what he’s capable of, so when we played that show and he killed it, we were just like let’s keep going with Anthony and we should continue writing. That’s what Vinnie wanted to do. We had songs we were working on, so we worked on them with Anthony.”

up, I felt like there was a void, and I felt like maybe it was wrong that we weren’t together. And then it’s hard to keep the same people in the band all the time. Not everybody can always do it for whatever reason it is. But Andy and I agreed when we got back together this time around which is a few years ago at this point, I think it was 2016 or 2017 that we opened for Dag Nasty and we were together for good at that point again. I think Andy and I decided then that as long as we’re alive, this band is a band.” 💣💣💣

It’s reinvigorating to be playing together again, according to Bennett. “When we do it, we’re high off it for weeks. And we don’t get to do it that often. And honestly, that’s probably a good thing. That’s why when we do it it’s special.” The guitarist expounds, “When we broke

PHOTOGRAPHY Matt Viel

He explains: “The music part is easy because Mike (DeLorenzo, bassist) and Anthony (Corallo, drums) and I all live relatively close together here on Long Island, and we send stuff over the internet. We can put it together without really getting together. Andy (West, vocalist and co-founding member), on the other hand, lives in Florida these days, and he’s not technically savvy, so there’s no way he’s gonna be in on the internet part of the writing.” Bennett says, “He needs to write with at least one of us around. He needs to be in the room. He can’t get inspired just listening to the songs.” The guitarist relates, “We have all this music, and we really can’t do much with it unless Andy is around, which is not often.” They have 12 to 14 songs written between Bennett, DeLorenzo, and Corallo. “We picked these two (‘Tragic” and ‘Simple, Short, and Fast’) to do the split.” When Andy came up to NY, and they were getting it all together to record these couple of songs, he nailed the vocals. “Boom. He just delivered those two songs like it was the old days,” Bennett gushes. So, the band will work on songs little by little, as opportunities arise. As for what is in the works, Bennett cautions that he doesn’t “wanna get too ahead of myself because it’s so far down the line,” but he does reveal that eventually they’re “planning on doing a full-length. Hopefully sooner than

NEW NOISE 31

praise INTERVIEW WITH GUITARIST ANTHONY DYE BY NAT LACUNA

anyone who listens to their previous “You do need to grow, and you do need to move past things in your life and you releases before this one can see is impressive to say the least. Lyrically, need to remember the people you lost the band have been able to write mo- and you carry them with you forever,” says Dye. tivating pieces about seeing light in the darkest of times, and how it gets even Instrumentally, All In A Dream has brighter after enduring those times everything Praise has always had, the where it was further away. shouting vocals, the driving rhythms, and powerful drum and guitar work. Always expanding, the record folds in more of those sweet melodies and bring more variety into the melodic hardcore formula. While never losing their edge, their fresh take gives them songs that incorporate influences outside a traditional palette for the genre. “On this record we got to bring in a lot more influence from Hüsker Dü, or U2, or Leatherface,” says Dye. “Bands that we love that are maybe slightly outside the traditional melodic hardcore that we come from that we love and have always loved that we can explore more of our creativity by pulling those inspirations that are a little more outside of our box.” Joining the Revelation Records roster for this release, Praise is now labelmates with influential bands they’ve followed since they were teenagers. That influence and this step forward is part of what is pushing them to keep that historic sound alive and push their sonic boundaries with every release. “I hope they hear it and want to dig deeper and listen to some of the stuff that inspired me,” Dye concludes. 💣💣

aving been active for nearly a decade, Praise’s brand of melodic hardcore that leans into the history of the D.C. area they call home has been shifting and growing for a long time. With songs about loss and being lost lining their back catalog, the band’s Revelation Records debut, All In A Dream, is out May 6th and leans into the hopeful aspect of cherishing those close to you at a time when we all need it most.

“It does feel a little bit helpful right now, I don’t know if it will keep feeling like that, it feels like anything could happen at any moment now,” says vocalist Anthony Dye. “Now when I think about that song (“All In A Dream”), what I think of is that hope which you can find in your own life amongst your friends and family. The way that I think about that song and the way that it interacts with the current moment, it changed a lot.” In their past releases, especially the 2016 release Leave It All Behind, there was a bit more focus on feeling scattered due to the grieving process, but All In A Dream has shifted into a clarity for looking forward and pushing on in the world with hope as an armor. The growth that any long-term fan or

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PHOTOGRAPHY Michael Thorn

PHOTOGRAPHY Nick Zimmer

SPANISH LOVE SONGS INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST DYLAN SLOCUM BY JOHN SILVA

“I

typically will put last draft lyrics on an album. I don’t like to tinker with the words too much,” says Spanish Love Songs vocalist Dylan Slocum. The band’s new record, Brave Faces Etc., out now via Pure Noise Records, is a reimagining of their beloved 2020 LP, Brave Faces Everyone, and by changing only the music, they gave new context to the preexisting lyrics.

these songs that we hadn’t gotten to play live, so it felt fun to tinker with them and live with them a bit longer.” Except for a few pieces here and there, the reimagined version of the album was created almost entirely after Brave Faces Everyone was complete. In other words, it’s not just a deluxe version of the original.

“I think it became almost an experi- “There were ideas of stuff that had ment to see if we could keep the lyrics been abandoned. Or different loops the same and change the music and or parts that had been abandoned see if that would create a new re- throughout the process,” Slocum says. sponse, in listening to it,” says Slocum. “Some of the songs on the reimagined (version) got back to how they were Because they haven’t played the originally demoed. But I think the songs from Brave Faces Everyone live, bigger, more robust reinterpretations approach forced them to take more the recording period still felt recent, were done afterwards ‘cause we had time with each piece. and time spent making Brave Faces been sitting at home for eight months Etc. felt like an extension of it. and were bored and had a bunch of “Usually we’ll be like, ‘here’s this part I have,’ and then you play it, and toys to play with.” there’s a reaction instantly,” Slocom “The cycle for (Brave Faces Everyone) was kinda robbed with everything Due to COVID, the band had a says. “Versus with this, Meredith would shutting down for the pandemic,” completely different writing process lay down a keyboard part, and then Slocum explains. “So, the songs were for Brave Faces Etc. With members we’d get a response from somebody still kinda fresh in our heads, in our in three different time zones, they a week later, but it wouldn’t be a own memories. I think it was kind of collaborated by sending clips back response; it would be an edit of the a natural choice to do some of the and forth to one another. As opposed keyboard part, or an entirely new things we didn’t get to do in the studio to the instant feedback that comes part. So, this kind of building and the first time around, and also take with writing in the same room, this adding and subtracting in that kind

34 NEW NOISE

of strange way, kind of led to it all coming together.” From the different approach to recording, to the music surrounding the lyrics, Brave Faces Etc. gives fans of Brave Faces Everyone a whole new way to experience the record. The words remain unchanged—technically, but the world surrounding the words is completely different, opening the lyrics up for new interpretations that might have previously gone unnoticed. 💣💣💣

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TIM KASHER INTERVIEW BY ROBERT DUGUAY

hether it’s with Cursive, The Good Life, or by himself, Tim Kasher has a cerebral way of writing songs. They usually convey his thoughts on relationships, trends and other social topics with an effort of relatability to the listener being set forth. As he finds himself in his late 40s, he has been examining mortality, loss and the state of our crazy world in existential fashion. This is what his fourth solo album, Middling Age, released in April on 15 Passenger Records, is the result of. Kasher had a bunch of different musicians collaborate with him remotely while making the album during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Jason Gerycz from Cloud Nothings, Laura Jane Grace from Against Me!, Jeff Rosenstock, and even his nine year old niece Natalie Tetro played a part in the recording sessions. When everything changed that fateful March two years ago, there was a lot of confusion and uncertainty about coronavirus. In the midst of all this, Kasher realized that in order for this new batch of songs to reach their potential, he needed to reach out to fellow musicians who operated out of their home studios.

PHOTO Erica Lauren

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“To begin with, I had to get a little of the album pretty naturally. My sister, to write about. Lyrics have a tendency crafty with how to do drums,” says her proud mother, had been sending to be fairly personal and/or intimate, Kasher on getting people involved in me songs that she had been writing on it’s a weird form of storytelling where the album. “Even though I play drums the regular and she’s really quite good.” in the end it isn’t storytelling at all. It’s quite a bit, I’m just not good enough to Kasher got her to contribute to the first just kind of where I generally tend be ready to perform on my own stuff and last tracks on the album, “Middling to lean, the challenges that tend to even though I’m willing to play drums Age Anxiety Prologue” and “Forever of consume my mind.” on other people’s stuff if they’ll still The Living Dead.” have me, I guess. I had just finished As for what he hopes people take from touring with Cloud Nothings, which “She sincerely has a nice knack for it, it’s the album, Kasher hopes someone was the last tour I had done prior to kind of wild to hear a nine-year-old finds a connection to what he’s singing the pandemic and Jason is an incred- working on songs,” He mentions about about. If someone navigating the same ible drummer. He’s kind of a dream his niece. “For the last song on the thoughts he has can be helped while drummer for me to work with, but also album, I had the thought that it would listening to Middling Age, then he’ll feel of great importance, we had already be nice to finish the track with a young like he’s done his job as a musician. struck up a dialogue that he had a person’s voice, so I thought of her behome studio he was doing all of his cause I had been receiving these texts “Just like with anything I do I hope peodrums out of. That was a great benefit of her singing. I really love to bookend ple like it, really,” he says on what he because I kind of needed that due to albums, so I also decided I’d use one of hopes people will react to the alhow confusing the beginning of the her songs prior to the opening track.” bum. “I guess it’s not a requirement, pandemic was for all of us.” I’m happy to have this privilege of Incorporating the themes mentioned putting records out but it’s certainly “I was kind of making plans based on earlier came naturally to Kasher more fulfilling if I can find a certain the thought that none of us could during the making of Middling Age. resonance with an audience. If really be in a room together unless It’s what he usually gravitates toward it’s something I can share with an we quarantined and that seemed with his songwriting, and the new audience, that means a lot to me. like a big ask,” Kasher adds. “Not to album is a further continuation and That’s it primarily but other than mention that I wasn’t even sure which covering of those subjects. that I hope by writing about my studios in Los Angeles were even open personal experiences and doing where I live and/or if they were oper- “It’s a lot of stuff that I naturally lean these exercises I work through in ating illegally or not, it was just a lot of toward,” explaining the themes be- my mind, people who are going confusion. It’s why I had to see which hind the album. “If anything, I’d say I through similar thoughts and have people were available through their wouldn’t object to trying to reach out similar feelings can be helped by home studios. My niece became part beyond these comfort zones that I like me pinpointing for them.”💣

SMOKE OR FIRE INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST AND GUITARIST JOE MCMAHON BY JANELLE JONES

eauty Fades, out May 27 on Iodine Recordings, is a 13-track album comprised of Smoke or Fire’s first EP, Worker’s Union, alongside seven other rare or previously unreleased tracks. This collection wonderfully showcases the band’s infectious brand of spirited, passionate punk. It’s fitting this batch of songs is being put out now through Iodine, as the Worker’s Union EP has had a fraught history. As vocalist and guitarist Joe McMahon explains, around 2000, “A kid put it out for us, and a month or two later, Iodine wanted to pick it up. We added one more song, and they re-pressed it,” but shortly thereafter, the label went bankrupt.

“We tried to release the record twice, and after it failed the second time, I think we sort of just gave up on it and decided to start writing the next record, which became (2005’s) Above the City and got us signed to FAT,” McMahon explains. “But a lot of these songs remained in our set for years, so I’m happy people can finally hear them recorded. And I’m really happy to be releasing it with Iodine. Somehow it all worked out. Just took a while.”

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As for how this release actually came about it. And also, what a cool op- after 20 years and making it sound to fruition, the frontman explains that portunity to release something new incredible.” he and Iodine owner Casey Horrigan during COVID times when it was imreconnected a few years ago, after possible to do anything.” When asked if the band might release Horrigan put up an old flyer from new material (their last full-length one of their shows and suggested Delving more into his feelings about was 2010’s The Speakeasy), the frontrereleasing Worker’s Union because of this material at this time, he divulges, man, who moved to Germany in 2014, the way things hadn’t panned out as “I listen to these songs, and I feel like says he has continued writing songs, originally planned all those years ago. I could have written them yesterday. I but that at the moment, there isn’t was writing most of this music around anything planned. “At first I wasn’t into the idea of re- 9/11, and that sort of had a big leasing an album of songs that were influence on me and the band. We “I stopped making plans after year 20 years old,” McMahon reveals. “I had strong feelings against the war. one of Corona,” he discloses. “I’m just honestly hadn’t listened to the songs A song like ‘50 Cent Hearts,’ I look at waiting to see which end we come out in years and didn’t know how they the world today and, unfortunately, of on this thing and go from there. I would hold up.” nothing has changed.” He goes on, do love the new songs I’ve written, and “The war I was singing against lasted I’m sure I will release them in one form However, Horrigan showed up at one 20 years and ended just before the or another at some point.”💣💣💣 of McMahon’s solo shows (he had rerelease of this record. I think about been playing in support of his full- that 22-year-old kid writing these length, Another Life, released in 2016), songs, and I know I’m not the same and they discussed the idea some person, but I feel the same about all more. “I listened to the songs, and I those things I was writing about.” He felt like they still held up really well.” confides, “I just feel sad that I don’t Indeed, he adds, “Some of the best feel like I have the energy to fight songs we wrote.” them now like I did then.” Then “When Casey told me he was getting Iodine back up and running, and we would remix and remaster the songs and do some really amazing artwork, that’s when I got excited

All in all, he says, “I really just have to thank Casey for all of the work he put into rereleasing this record, and also the original engineer Ethan Dussault for blowing the dust off these songs

BOB NANNA . NO TRIGGER CATBITE . ZETA . . . DAN VAPID AND THE CHEATS PKEW PKEW PKEW AUDIO KARATE PET SYMMETRY . DIKEMBE . KILL LINCOLN UNDERGROUND RAILROAD TO CANDYLAND . SIGNALS MIDWEST . NØ MAN . JER . ANN BERETTA . WOLF-FACE SLINGSHOT DAKOTA . POOL KIDS . DOLLAR SIGNS . PEZ . TSUNAMI BOMB . AFTER THE FALL . DEAD BARS . KALI MASI . CLOWN SOUNDS . EXPERT TIMING . RESTRAINING ORDER THE CALLOUS DAOBOYS . . TYPESETTER . . . . . .

THE HOMELESS GOSPEL CHOIR YOU VANDAL SHEHEHE DARK THOUGHTS CAITHLIN DE MARRAIS GILLIAN CARTER TIGHTWIRE SAVE ENDS JON SNODGRASS . OMNIGONE . MAX STERN & FRIENDS . SARCHASM . A VULTURE WAKE . CHAD PRICE . SUPERBLOOM . JOYSTICK THE PUNK CELLIST . THE BEST OF THE WORST . LONE WOLF . REBUILDER . LITTLE TEETH . RECONCILER . 84 TIGERS . BILLY LIAR . VIRGINITY PALOMINO BLOND . DEBT NEGLECTOR . BOARDROOM HEROES . ABRASKADABRA . SPELLS . BOSS’ DAUGHTER . GREY MATTER . HORSEWHIP TELEPATHIC LINES . NIIICE. . DEMONS . POSTAGE . SHORT FICTIONS . PAIGE BELLER . HIT LIKE A GIRL . THE JUKEBOX ROMANTICS THE BUTTS . MALE PATTERNS . THE SONDER BOMBS . ROYAL DOG . MATT CASKITT & THE BREAKS . EICHLERS . CALIFORNIA COUSINS FLYING RACCOON SUIT . NOISE COMPLAINT . THE UPFUX . DISSIDENTE . THIRSTY GUYS . MADISON TURNER . INTERVENTION . ELDERS PUBLIC SERPENTS . SUNSLEEPER . CHEEM . BASHFUL . DRY SOCKET . PANIC PROBLEM . CRUSHED!? . TIM HOLEHOUSE . MENAGRAMO . BIG BIRD KID YOU NOT . BRACEFACE . SWEET GLOOM . FOODEATER . JACK M. SENFF . NECKSCARS . HEAVY SEAS . MIDDLE-AGED QUEERS . PANGOLIN MIKE & THE NERVE . TALKING PROPS . JACOB DANIELSEN-MOORE . PLASTIC FLAMINGOS . STILL SHAKING . HUNGER ANTHEM . GLOOMY JUNE FLAGMAN . PORCH COFFIN . R-DENT . CHRIS FOX . HAILACAB . SINGING LUNGS . SHANE TORRES . DAVE ROSS . BEN ROY . KELLY MCINERNEY

MORE BANDS ANNOUNCED JUNE 6TH . VISIT THEFESTFL.COM FOR TICKETS AND MORE INFO

PHOTO Clinton Mayfield

SNUFF INTERVIEW WITH GUITARIST LOZ WONG BY JOHN B. MOORE

n 2022, the long running British punk band Snuff had just put out the EP The Wrath of Thoth and had every intention of touring behind that record. Then came the global Covid pandemic.

2019 LP) in the upcoming sets for this summer and autumn touring.” And while musicians across the globe, stuck at home, were trying their hands at baking, gardening and just about anything to stave off the boredom, Wong was battling the pandemic.

“Unfortunately, the last album never got to go on tour or be played out,” said guitarist Loz Wong, whose been “Personally, I continued working all with the band since the mid-1990s. through the first lockdown,” he says. “The song “Dippy Egg,” off the last “I work in an NHS hospital here, so we record, is a set regular and bloody were at the front line in terms of COVID popular so that gets a good airing and it was a kind of hell I’d not wish on when we are gigging. We are looking my worst enemy. I have nothing but to resolve this matter as soon as pos- the utmost admiration and respect for sible, hopefully we’ll have some of the my clinical and medical colleagues songs of There’s A Lot Of It About (their who saved so many lives in that time

40 NEW NOISE

through their dedication and skills. There is not really a general theme It’s just a shame our government did to the album, but Duncan Redmonds, not recognize that in any meaningful the drummer, singer and main songway, but they damn sure took the writer for Snuff takes on societal issues credit. The rise of anti-vaxxers, and via his lyrics, covering issues both doother misinformed individuals is also mestic and political – with a healthy a big disappointment but that is way dose of humor tossed in. of humanity at the moment, where stupidity and patriotism seem to be “Personally, I love Duncan’s lyrics,” the same thing.” Wong says. “He speaks a language I totally get, it’s not too wordy and just The band had already been working enough vitriol with poignant flavors to on new music, but that first lockdown keep me interested.” provided the opportunity to finish what they had started. The end result Making up for several years off the road, is Crepuscolo Dorato Della Bruschetta lost to the pandemic, Snuff is finally out Borsetta Calzetta Cacchetta Trombetta playing shows again. But sadly, no plans Lambretta Giallo Ossido, Ooooooh Così are set yet for shows in the U.S. Magnifico!’ (Or Crepuscolo Dorato, for short), released in April on SBÄM Re- “We would love to return to the U.S. and cords/10 Past 12 Records. play some shows. We were scheduled to do the Punk in Drublic festival and a few “This album was kind of born in the other shows in 2018 but that went to shit first lockdown of 2020 although it had after NOFX had the Vegas thing hapbeen gestating for a year with the pen and all those shows fell through,” he individual songwriters, but in terms says. “We are itching to get back over of when the “meat” of the songs was so it is something we are pursuing. The added, yes, it is very much a “lock- main stopping block is the cost of work down” record,” Wong says. visas for the U.S. It ain’t cheap!”💣💣💣

STATE CHAMPS

can Rejects hit “Swing, Swing.” The legacy of Kings of the New Age is yet to be written, but the foundation is promising. Graham breaks down what State Champs have made: “It was obviously a strange time writing a record because it started before the pandemic. We started demoing, and then we got into real writing mode in the midst of the pandemic. For us, it was pretty interesting being off the road for that long, as it was for a lot of bands. But we were a band that was really grinding and on the road a lot. It was nice to sit back and take time to write this record, really think about, be intentional with the songs that we wanted to make and what we wanted to say.” He continues, “I think my role in this record was really pushing Derek to write more thoughtful lyrics. I’ve kind of always been someone who is invested in the music, the musicality of making songs and making the record. When I joined the band in 2014, I really wasn’t sure how much I was able to insert myself into the songwriting process. When you come in, you feel like a newbie and don’t wanna step on anyone’s toes, but over the years, I’ve really stepped up in the songwriting department. “Derek and I worked closely on the lyrics and the melodies on this record. I think he was able to, for the first time, actually be very vulnerable with some of these lyrics. It’s a hard thing to put yourself out there. I’ve always been someone that has been drawn to those kinds of lyrics. That’s the music that I love. I think that’s probably the number-one aspect of it.” Besides upping the lyrical vulnerability, Kings of the New Age also aimed to capture the live energy of their shows.

PHOTO Alex McDonell

INTERVIEW WITH BASSIST RYAN SCOTT GRAHAM BY JOSH MARANHAS

hile State Champs were spending their pandemic downtime crafting a new era of their career with their upcoming new album, Kings of the New Age, out May 13 via Pure Noise Records, the world of pop punk was going through its own cosmic shift.

“It feels like all of a sudden, a wind blew in, and it’s just like, ‘Oh, pop

42 NEW NOISE

punk is cool again,’” bassist Ryan Scott Graham laughs. “Here are all these new artists, and they’re doing pop punk kind of in a different way. There’s more—I don’t know what it is—like, swag to it. There’s new celebrity and a little bit more ego behind it. For the last however many years, it hasn’t really been cool to be into pop punk. We were just doing what we know and what we love like

personally. Our fan base is totally organic and built from the ground up, from grinding and playing shows and playing small clubs. We are the point of playing midsize clubs, festivals and whatnot, but for so long, it was just us scratching and clawing to try to get somewhere.” Pressing play on “Here to Stay” hits like the first listen to the All Ameri-

“We’ve always sounded like a big live band, and it’s always been very energetic,” says Graham. “We feed off the crowd’s energy. They’re going crazy. We’re going crazy. It was really a matter of trying to capture that big stadium sound, but still have that raw pop punk energy come through. The wall of sound is a thing that everybody kind of comes to expect, especially when you come to a rock show. With these songs, we did a lot of, not just guitar, drum and bass. We did a lot of percussion. We did a lot of strings. We did a lot of keys on this record. We put it on the tracks, and it just sounds huge live.” 💣💣💣

PHOTO Rachael Shorr

PHOTO Nicht Verwenden

PULLEY INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST SCOTT RADINSKY BY FRANKIE TOROK

even years after Pulley last released a studio album, their newest offering, The Golden Life drops May 13 on SBÄM Records. It all started with last year’s Different Strings 10” EP - an acoustic reimagining of four tracks from their debut album, 1996’s Esteem Driven Engine - and their first release for their new label.

thing like that. You certainly hear yourself a lot more, and you’re a lot more conscious of how you sound because everything’s so clean.” As with a lot of new releases right now, the multiple lockdowns over the past two years have definitely been a factor in the creative process.

“We have a guitar player that we’ve “I can go back to 1982 and my mujammed with for over 30 years, and sical goals really haven’t changed a new drummer who has been fill- from the days of playing in the gaing in during live shows since 2013, rage.” He continues, “It’s five people who’re full-time now,” he adds. “You who get along. We enjoy going to can see in somebody’s eyes that our studio and rehearsing, we enjoy sense that we’re connected, and each other’s company, we enjoy that’s a tough thing to find.” playing music live. And as long as we don’t oversaturate it to the point Then there’s the unofficial “sixth mem- where it’s not fun, that’s the number ber of the band” - artist Mark De Salvo. one goal. There’s not a lot of bands that can honestly say that.” “We’ve done just about every [record] with him for the last 20 some And while Radinsky has a lot to be odd years. We just give him an idea stoked about, with the new album and let him run with it, and he’s and tours on both sides of the Atalways come through. He’s done a lantic lined up, he also likes to take really good job on this one.” solace in the little things.

“It’s kind of what kick-started the From the early days with Epitaph “I’m super excited about a new whole thing,” Radinsky says. “When Records to 2019’s induction into the record coming out. I’m looking everybody was off work early on, we Ventura County Music Hall of Fame, forward to playing some of these had an opportunity to get together Pulley has always been passion be- songs live and spreading the word,” and rehearse. And it just led to writ- fore everything else. he says. “But in general, I just get ing and more writing, and before excited about waking up every day we knew it, we had a pretty good “It’s never been a job for us, so I think and wondering what I’m going to do. batch of songs.” the camaraderie has been sustain- And then when I go to sleep at night, able because there’s no bitterness. knowing that was a good day, that This all marks the start of a new We could be in front of 10,000 peo- excites me. I keep it simple.” 💣💣💣 “It was definitely challenging,” he era for Pulley, with new official ple or 10 people and the feeling admits of the acoustic release. “It members, and a refreshed dynamic inside each guy would be the same,” was the first time we’ve done any- within the group. Radinsky says.

“We were taking a couple of songs off the previous records, and we were going to do a series, which I hope we still continue,” says vocalist Scott Radinsky, “but we kind of got bored after a while. We needed to plug in and play. So that’s how the new songs came about.”

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NEW ALBUM OUT JUNE 24 WWW.THEONLYBANDEVER.COM

PHOTO Greg Jacobs

JOHN DOE W

INTERVIEW BY COOPER BERKMOYER

hile writing his latest solo member of Willie Nelson’s band) and modern devices, which I, you know, I’m effort Fables in a Foreign Conrad Choucroun, alongside a guests grateful for.” Land, available May 20th on like Shirley Manson of Garbage, and his Fat Possum Records, John longtime collaborator Excene Cerven- Doe sought a return to simplicity, in Doe tapped into our current ka of X, are gnawingly prescient. sound and vision, and found inspiramoment by looking back, setting the tion in reflecting on the often austere loose-concept album in the 1890s, fol- “I started dreaming this up in probably lives of those who slogged through lowing an unnamed cowboy traversing 2019 and it wasn’t something that was the fin de siècle in the mythic west of the plains of the western United States calculated or premeditated in any way. American empire. As it turns out, the at the tail end of westward expansion. The songs just started coming out like sudden cessation of live music and a that and then I realized, probably the nationwide lockdown was just the tickThough he had no idea what lay ahead third or fourth song in this cycle was the et for Doe to realize these ambitions: when he first conceived of the project, song “Never Coming Back” and then I “[circumstances] demanded that this the themes of loss and desolation that thought: oh, this is a song about pursuit is the way that it’s going to be. I supweave their way through the tales sung, and escape and things like that and I pose we could have had a different told, strummed and drummed up by had already settled on… because of rehearsal space and made some Doe and collaborators Kevin Smith (a being,” Does sighs, “set up with all these crazy psychedelic record but this is

46 NEW NOISE

what we had and what we ended up doing. Like I said, it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity because we’ll all get busy. Luckily, we’re going to be able to carve out some time to do some touring behind it, but there might be a different bass player because we all defer to Willie Nelson, as it should be,” he laughs. “Sometimes the more options that are available makes it difficult. It makes it more difficult to come up with something that has its natural boundaries, and I didn’t even think of this until now, but that’s similar to the way you had to live or have to live if you’re living hand to mouth. In the old days you didn’t have all these options because you just had to make sure that the roof didn’t fall in and make sure the bears didn’t get into their food stores and you could find enough or kill a turkey once a week or whatever.” The result is an album that, more so than any other solo endeavor by Doe recalls his groundbreaking punk band X in tone, if not style, a similarity that Doe acknowledges emphatically. When asked about his plans on touring and translating the experience and sound of writing the album with friends in a backyard to a stage, he responds with excited expectation: “I can say that with a certain setlist and repertoire you can turn certain X songs and any other solo material into something that sits right alongside these, and I can say that with certainty because I’ve done it and it’s good! One of the reasons I think I went down this path is because I got tired of having to orchestrate more than two or three instruments. Like, don’t play here, play there, don’t do that, and maybe some people play too much. What about just playing a song?” Earlier, he had ruminated on how a folk album like Fables in a Foreign Land and his songs in a punk band like X shared a common thread, just as a modern audience can relate to the characters that populate Doe’s imagined ‘foreign land’ of the 1890s: “It was actually pointed out to me by my daughter who said, ‘Well you know dad,’” Doe laughs, “’there’s a lot of themes of isolation and loneliness and that’s kind of what we’re going through nowadays’ and I thought: ‘oh, fair point!’ People might be able to relate to this because of what they’ve gone through, but also the X records had some of that as well and I chalk that up to…” Doe pauses in thought before continuing. “Music is a great communicator, and you can hear things, you can interpret things in the song, differently depending on how you’re feeling, and it will be more meaningful.” He pauses again before continuing, “the stronger you’re feeling it the more meaningful the song can be.” 💣

PHOTOS Courtesy of the band

THE RISE AND FALL (AND RESURRECTION) OF EMPIRE “I think we always had a lot of fun, and “Our first two albums were released on even though our van was definitely Adeline Records,” says Holoien. “And not the fanciest van, it was always for us, it was like holy shit, wow, this the party van,” laughs Maren “Stur- is really cool and fun to meet some geon” Macosko. “And there were of those people. But they folded a and a lot was going on. It seemed many, many people that partied in few years later, so they gave us the like a natural progression of things,” that van. We always had fun. And masters and in doing that, it had to agrees drummer Danny Henry on when it stopped being fun, we kind of come down off all the streaming so the band’s disintegration. stopped doing it.” that we could reupload it … and it just kind of languished and took a long Hailing from the Twin City areas Their infectious stage presence and time. Josh Goldman from Rad Girlin Minneapolis, The Soviettes were nonstop work ethic caught the at- friend and Mike Bruno from Dead formed in 2003 when Holoien and tention of Billie Joe Armstrong, who Broke Rekerds are rereleasing those bassist Susie Sharp were introduced signed the band on his label, Adeline records and they have been really to Henry and guitarist Maren “SturRecords, and released their first two big champions of the band anyway. geon” Macosko by their friends albums LP1 and LP2. But with the label They wrote to us and asked why aren’t in Dillinger Four. They wrote hyclosing their doors in 2017, the albums our records on Spotify or Apple—like, per-charged post-punk anthems in went out of print, that was until both you can’t find them anywhere except the same vein of Bikini Kill and X-Ray albums were rereleased digitally and YouTube where fans uploaded songs. Spex,and played them like the cops physically in April via Rad Girlfriend They asked if they could do it, and it could show up at any minute. and Dead Broke Rekerds. was awesome because I thought I

INTERVIEW WITH GUITARIST AND VOCALIST ANNIE “SPARROWS” HOLOIEN, DRUMMER AND VOCALIST DANNY HENRY, AND GUITARIST AND VOCALIST MAREN “STURGEON” MACOSKO BY DEREK NIELSEN

he Soviettes were here for a good time, if not for a long time. Before you could say “Paranoia Cha-Cha,” the group had released three LPs, a few EPs, appeared on countless compilations, and toured all 50 states before disbanding in 2006.

“Yeah, we just burned ourselves out on that band,” says guitarist and vocalist Annie “Sparrows” Holoien. “The last thing we did was a 50-state tour that was three months long,

48 NEW NOISE

would just do it myself; it’s just digital. “It was sort of sneaky ‘cause it was want and it doesn’t have to be like this that—like, there’s a lot melodically They offered to do it, and it happened poppy, but it had an edge in the angry-sounding music just because with the guitars. There’s a lot of sadbecause Adeline folded.” content,” Henry continues. “Todd you think shit’s fucked up.” ness in a lot of our songs even though from Razorcake said ‘I can only the lyrics might not be,” Holoien comTheir third album, LP3, currently remains think of one other band that did For the members of The Soviettes, ments on the band’s music. in the Fat Wreck Chords catalog. that, and it was The Avengers.’ And growing up in the North Midwest and Though remembered for their catchy I’m not comparing myself to that, enduring winter after winter, it wasn’t “That’s probably why we made so hooks and animated stage presence, but there was that angle that I never just the political climate that shaped many records,” Henry states. “What the members of the band all managed thought about til that point.” their sound— it was also the actual else are you gonna do? We sat into sneak some political subversion into climate. While the winters raged side and recorded all our records the fray, even snagging themselves “I think we just wrote what was go- outside, The Soviettes raged harder in the winter. We wrote them, like, in a spot on the Fat Wreck Chords Rock ing on. We were really young, and inside. the two months leading up to going Against Bush Vol.1 compilation. George the second was, like, the in studio and stuff.” worst thing that could possibly ever “Winters are super depressing, and “We were a pretty political band happen. And look now! Like, holy seasonal depression disorder runs “I felt like we kind of brought the paractually!” Holoien says. “One thing shit. But also, we all wrote what we rampant on most people that live ty to the stage when we had to, but that kept getting asked of us in inter- liked to hear,” Macosko reflects. “I here which is probably why we par- it was always fun,” Henry reiterates. views was ‘How do you write political prefer my music to sound more like tied so much, you kind of just do what- “People would remark about how songs that are so catchy that you The Avengers or X-Ray Spex. Like, ever you have to do to get through we would smile because there’s no can dance to them?’ That was kind you could totally write whatever you the winter … I think that there’s a lot pretentiousness. I’m not a tough guy, of our superpower.” want and it can sound however you of aspects of our music that embody right? So why not just smile?” 💣💣💣

NEW NOISE

A SIT-DOWN WITH

INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST AND GUITARIST STEFAN BABCOCK, BASSIST NESTOR CHUMAK, DRUMMER ZACK MYKULA AND GUITARIST STEVE SLADKOWSKI BY JOHN SILVA

50 NEW NOISE

PHOTO Kristin Breitkreutz

up pushed themselves to the brink of madness to make the band’s fourth studio album, The Unraveling of PUP the Band, released on their Rise Records imprint, Little Dipper, in April. The album goes in unexpected directions the band have never taken before, due in part to a recording process that saw the group living and working tirelessly in the studio.

Why did you pick the title The Unravelling of PUP the Band? Stefan: We were in the studio for five weeks, and we were living in the studio and working on this album constantly. All hours of the day, not leaving the place. We started to kind of go off the deep end. Week four, week five of just being around each other and nobody else, we kind of started to make some really strange decisions that ended up on the album. Looking back on the album I think we’re all very stoked that we made those weird decisions, but they are definitely weird and show our mental unraveling as we’re going the process of recording. What are some things you did on this album that you hadn’t done on previous albums? Zach: We explored a few more aspects to our sound, and at the outset we were trying to find a way to expand on what we sound like without throwing away what we developed thus far. And it ended up that it included weaving in some stuff that we hadn’t on previous records, like some synthesizers and some small horn arrangements, and there’s some soundscapes in between some songs that Steve came up with. It’s just a bunch of cool, there’s textural and overt stuff as well that came together and made all the songs gel a little bit. And that’s kind of new to us. Aside from that, a lot of it was, on our fourth record, getting better and better at making music that sounds like us as people. I think that’s a process that comes naturally if you do it for long enough. You said that you can hear the band falling off a cliff. What did you mean by that? Stefan: sonically, things are often going off the rails in our music. Whether it’s on record or the live show, we’re always straddling this line between being super tight and falling into the abyss. Certainly, I think that’s more evident on this record than ever. There are songs that are barely held together by freak out saxophone solos. When I listen back to it now, in the mental space I’m in now, and I think I’m speaking on behalf of everybody, listening back, the people who made that record are ... I don’t wanna say unrecognizable, but listening back I’m like ‘holy fuck we were going through some shit.’ You don’t relate to the songs now that you wrote then? Stefan: No, I still relate to them, and I think probably we all still very much relate to them. I think it’s more like, there are certain moments on the record where, it would be impossible to recreate them because they came from a place of being mentally unhinged after five weeks. I read a quote that you wanted to write about the horrible state of the world, but from a personal lens. Why did you want to take that approach? Stefan: I’ve tried to write songs that were a bit more overt, less personal, more, maybe, political in nature. And it just does not sound like my voice. I really admire people who can write proper protest songs, but every time I’ve tried it just sounds so fake and contrived and gross. The thing that I feel like I’m good at as a lyricist is succinctly describing my state of mind. So that’s kind of the best way for me to examine the state of the world, through that personal lens. I think more people will be able to relate to that.

You guys spent more time working on this record than previous records, right? Nestor: Actually, I think it was about the same as Morbid Stuff. Morbid Stuff maybe took a bit longer. Stefan: You add up the hours though, on this one. Nestor: Oh yeah, that’s true. We lived in the studio this time around, so I guess we worked more, technically. How did living in the studio change the dynamic compared to previous recording projects? Zach: We lived together all the time, basically. Steven: Personal dynamics, we were used to it. I think in a way it was more intense. And then there were also times where it was just fun. There were a couple Friday nights, it’s not like we went out or partied, but we would cook a nice dinner and have some drinks and just relax and watch a dumb movie. Then we would get up on Saturday, and that’s a day that normally, if we had been at a recording studio we might not work, but we have Saturday, Nestor is a really capable engineer, we could record on Saturday. Even if we were just trying things out, exploring, there was a lot of that which was cool. Some camaraderie building? Zach: The pressure cooker has been on for long enough, there was definitely, the older you get the better you get at relating to your own feelings and to other peoples’ feelings, and I think that’s a huge part of this, and trying actively to be present for each other in the studio and listening to each other more. And so in that sense, I think we’re closer than ever. But it’s also like we’re each other’s own worst enemies, ‘cause we know everybody’s ... the little things that piss each other off. It’s like being in a family. Tell me about “Robot Writes a Lovesong.” Where did the idea for this song come from? Stefan: It started out as me trying to see if I could write a real love song, ‘cause I’ve never done that before. And the answer is, I cannot. I think, in a similar vein to trying to write a political song or protest song, I found when I was trying to write a super straight ahead love song, it just was feeling so contrived. And even though the emotions that I was putting down on paper were very real and true to what I was feeling, it sounded like trash. Just contrived garbage. And as soon as I changed the ... I decided I was gonna try to insert some humor, change the perspective, and as soon as I did that I feel like lyrically, for me anyways, the lyrics had so much more impact. and to this day, I’m not really sure why, but just sort of removing my voice from the narrative made the love story that much more potent. As far as, musically, maybe the other guys wanna speak to this, but it was the fastest we’ve ever written the song. Brought in the demo, and then as a band, we built the song in an afternoon which is unbelievably rare for us. Nester: The crazy thing too is, Stefan brought in two demos, one was a soft piano ballad style demo and one was a guitar rock demo, and we all loved both of them. So we were like we have to find a way to make both of these work at the same time. And hopefully it happened. Steven: That’s a classic dilemma for us, rather than making a choice between two creative options we just try to jam them together. 💣💣💣

NEW NOISE 51

THESE ARMS

PHOTO Shayla Martin

INTERVIEW WITH BASSIST BRIAN COOK BY BEN SAILER

uring their seven-year run from 2002 to 2009, These Arms Are Snakes were always respected, but rarely understood. Featuring members from Botch (bassist Brian Cook), Kill Sadie (vocalist Steve Snere), and Nineironspitfire (guitarist Ryan Frederiksen), they were often covered as an “ex-members” band, with Botch casting an especially long shadow over their existence. Their name elicited unwarranted comparisons to the gimmicky

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indie rock and post-hardcore acts of the era, leading some to dismiss the forward-thinking Seattle-based quartet as little more than Hot Topic T-shirt fodder despite existing in a world far away from shopping mall-core. “There was always a struggle for people to figure out where we actually fit in,” bassist Brian Cook says. “I feel like we were slightly ahead of the curve on the obnoxious band name thing, or at least when we actually settled on the PHOTO Robin Laananen

ARE SNAKES band name, it still seemed like a novelty and not just a pattern for every moppy-haired, skinny-jean band that was forming at the time.”

PHOTO Robin Laananen

With the release of their rarities collection Duct Tape & Shivering Crows, out now via Suicide Squeeze, listeners have been given a second chance to make amends for erroneous assumptions. It collects 13 tracks from various loose ends in the band’s catalog—splits with Russian Circles and Harkonen, their first demo, a pair of covers (including a rendition of “Heart Shaped Box” from Robotic Empire’s collection of Nirvana covers), and two B-sides—spanning the evolution of their sound in reverse chronological order. The material on Duct Tape & Shivering Crows, taken as a whole, offers a condensed version of their creative trajectory, functioning as a series of snapshots taken in between their three full-length records (2004’s Oxeneers or The Lion Sleeps When Its Antelope Go Home, 2006’s Easter, and 2008’s Tail Swallower and Dove). From scrappy hardcore kids reaching beyond the boundaries of their roots, to a prog-influenced avant-garde without anyone effectively post-hardcore machine, they steering the ship, and we were developed a devoted following pretty lucky in that capacity while existing on the periphery that we were able to do so much and survive through it,” of hardcore and indie rock. Cook says. “But it was always Much like their raucous sonic kind of chaotic, and there experimentation (and accom- was never a good contingenpanying live shows), the band’s cy plan for when things went internal dynamics were never wrong. Which things often did quite in control. They toured go wrong.” extensively, believing that hard work would make life as a band easier in the long run, teetering on the verge of breakthrough success without ever crossing over into financially stable territory. However, they were never exactly well-organized, and they existed in a perpetual state of just barely controlled chaos. “We had gotten by for years

Faced with a decision to either pair of reunion shows in Seattle heavily reinvest in the band or last August demonstrated (and walk away from the road, These if cryptic Facebook posts are Arms Are Snakes imploded anything to go by, those shows somewhat unceremoniously in might not have been “final” 2009. It was an abrupt end for shows, as commonly assumed). a band that left little resolution, not for fans nor the band them- Regardless of what the future selves. Interest in These Arms Are holds, though, there’s no better Snakes never fully faded away; time than now to explore their however, as the reaction to their brand of aural chaos and reassess what was often missed and misunderstood the first time around.

“THERE WAS ALWAYS A STRUGGLE FOR PEOPLE TO FIGURE OUT WHERE WE ACTUALLY FIT IN.”

“The fact that people … can look back and ask, ‘Huh, where did this band really fit in’ is reassuring to me,” Cook says. “It’s like, cool, we weren’t as easy to pigeonhole as some people sometimes made us out to be. I appreciate that.”💣💣💣

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SOUL PHOTOGRAPHY Michael Thorn

INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST PIERCE JORDAN BY JAMES MUDRAK

“WHAT THE ALBUM MEANS TO ME ISN’T EASILY SUMMED UP. IT’S AS COMPLETE A PICTURE TO ME AS WE ARE ABLE TO GIVE OF THE PAST COUPLE YEARS OF OUR LIVES. IT’S WHAT WE’VE LEARNED AND WHAT WE’VE GONE THROUGH. EACH ALBUM IS THAT, BUT EACH ALBUM IS A DIFFERENT POINT IN TIME AND A RESULT OF EVERYTHING THAT CAME BEFORE IT, LIKE ITS CREATORS. TO BE HONEST, THE ONLY THING PEOPLE CAN LEARN TO EXPECT FROM THIS BAND IS THAT THEY CAN’T EXPECT ANYTHING AT ALL.” 54 NEW NOISE

ing track “Spiritual Level of Gang Shit,” the album is a ride you won’t want to get off of. The name of the band serves as not only a cinematic reference from Coming to America, but also how “the band is a representation of our innermost selves,” Jordan says. “It’s about sharing and communication. A band is a team effort, or at least ours is, and we succeed when we are open and honest with each other about who we are. I’ve only ever been able to make music in groups so letting my innermost self-shine through to the group is my primary way of communicating my feelings and ideas.” Their latest effort was conceptualized over the course of some years (2016 to 2021). During that period, the band released a plethora of defining demos, EPs, and LPs that contributed to the sonic and artistic vision for Diaspora Problems.

LO T

his sentimental statement comes from vocalist, Pierce “a.k.a. Moneynicca, a.k.a. $$$Nigga” Jordan, of Philadelphian hardcore punk band Soul Glo about what their highly anticipated album Diaspora Problems, released in March on Epitaph Records, means to him.

Jordan, first and foremost, is a man of many traits, ambitions, and aspirations. He describes himself as “passive, sensitive, obsessive, and optimistic.” It goes without saying that Jordan makes sure to represent “myself and my own experience” through his efforts of creativity. All of this is painted vividly and proved true throughout the project. From the opening track “Gold Chain Punk (whogonbeatmyass)” to the end-

Joran explains, “Aside from the member changes, we all grew as musicians and got nastier and worked harder at our instruments. Everything we put out was just us working our way up to a point where we would put out an album that we would shop around and whatnot. We traveled and met people, gained new understanding, and influence. All the things that help you grow, ya know?”

many things clicked into place. It’s not hard to see what I’m talking about, but I’m also not tryna snitch. I specifically wanted to mention Telfar in the song because of how much I admire the brand and the issues they’ve had with resellers “It sounds like it’s by other people,” and the ways they’ve gone about he says. “I’ve never made anything curbing the issue. with other people that I feel is this good. When Mother Maryrose Packed with tales of self-doubt, sent her verse back, I wanted to self-hate, past traumas, financial cry. She was all bashful and shit- instability, the effects of institutalking about (how) she didn’t tional and state violence, and the know how she was gonna hit the power of community, Diaspora Problems is an early, but strong, beat, then sent us back that.” contender for album of the year. The track is packed with golden elements of hip-hop, heavy-hitting drums, and distorted screeches looped throughout, accompanied by a flawless flow from Mother Maryrose.

Regarding what the song means to him, he laughs, “That track for me is about getting money. Clothing resale is a not-so-secret economy, and while I’m specifically not condoning flipping Telfar products, I do understand why people are driven into the business of shoe flipping and reselling luxury items. The song started to form in my mind when I saw my cousin trying to sell his dad’s dress shoes to him at Thanksgiving dinner. I started thinking about how the hardest hit places in the city during the June 2020 riots were clothing and electronic stores, and suddenly so

Overall, Jordan’s hopes for Diaspora Problems are that “people respond to my contributions on this album—like in any way, to be honest. I’m hoping that a lot of people read the lyrics and reflect on them and what I’m trying to say and come back with their own responses and understanding of themselves and the world around them. I hope they can and do verbalize them because I wanna know how people feel. I’m hoping people are compelled by our influences and wanna fuck with the artists we fuck with.” 💣💣💣

All of the groundwork and growth that has been put in by the band throughout the years has led to this moment—Diaspora Problems. The term ‘diaspora’ means the dispersion of any people from their original homeland. “Someone called us ‘diaspora problems’ in a Facebook event for a show a while back,” says Jordan. “I felt like it was a very apt description of our music and our lyrical content. As products of the African diaspora, every problem we have as people is a result of it.” Diaspora Problems is unlike any of its predecessors from the band. This project not only subverts expectations for long-term listeners but keeps the band’s signature sounds of raw delivery, crashing drums, snarling strings, and crunchy electronic components. There’s a unique richness that is embedded within each lyric said and each instrument played. Jordan notes that his favorite song off the project is “Driponmoics.”

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GOOD SONGS ALWAYS WIN

ILVERSTEIN

INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST SHANE TODD BY ASHLEY OKEN

PHOTOGRAPHY Desoto Photo

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onning a black leather jacket, Shane Told, frontman of Silverstein, says he’s learned one consistent thing over the course of 22 years of being a punk scene torchbearer: good songs always win. “At the end of the day, that’s the one thing you know you kind of can’t get wrong if you do it right.’’ Hailing from Ontario, Canada, Silverstein exploded onto the scene in the early aughts, categorized as everything from screamo to post-hardcore during their early days. Named after the children’s author Shel Silverstein, they honed their sound with the debut album, When Broken is Easily Fixed, and came onto the scene with their second album, 2005’s Discovering the Waterfront, a record with energetic and emotive songs that incorporated elements of punk rock. 2019’s effort, A Beautiful Place to Drown, continued to see Told embracing his heartfelt emotions. On the band’s 10th album, Misery Made Me, Told dug deep to get it COVID, which lead up to writing the Made Me, Told says the band “truly important for them to speak out. right, writing some of the “heavi- record. These calls were something put it all out there” and went in with est, catchiest, and most emotional that let Told see they were all go- “no rules and no preconceived no- “Bankrupt” is perhaps the most songs in 22 years of band.” For ing through the same feelings and tion of what Silverstein is or what it political track on the record, with Told, the theme of misery on the struggles. could be.” Although they’ve always lyrics such as “The deck is stacked / band’s new record was more been able to experiment vocal- The game is rigged / The only rope than something to explore—it was “I think that brought us closer ly—Told embraces his range—he they give / Chokes us when they together as friends, not just band- admits that there’s a lot of gate- pull the strings!” screamed by Told inescapable. mates or colleagues or business keeping in punk rock. in an angry tone. Told thinks that “Misery was what we all felt for the partners,” he admits. Being there it came from not wanting to “get better part of two years. Especially for each other put them all on the “In the past we would be worried into our own emotional state” and the way we came into the pandem- same page to “start putting togeth- about the ‘rules’ we had to comply “finding it easier to write about ic. We were firing on all cylinders,” er creative things” like livestreams with to fit in a certain box or scene something else that we were angry and recording Redux II, which was and we’d end up limiting ourselves rather than being super self-rehe says. done over the pandemic. creatively sometimes.” On this album, flective right away.” Their last album, A Beautiful Place Told was able to feel like “our vision To Drown, had been released, cel- Fans were even involved in writing was fulfilled instead of stifled.” “The fact that we all have to play ebrating 20 years of being a band sessions for the record on Twitch, this stupid game of capitalism and and selling out the biggest places something that Told said was “re- Told says the key to maintaining everything to live is kind of disgustthey’ve ever played while on tour. warding for both the fans and the such a strong fan base comes ing,” he says. Told was further cementing his status band.” down to authenticity and finding as an emo legend, at the peak of his methods of reaching people in For Told, his podcast Lead Singer career. Then the pandemic “pulled “We missed them from not being on meaningful, new ways, whether it’s Syndrome, which boasts over 300 tour for so long and being able to through Tik-Tok, Discord, NFTs, or episodes, is a “cool thing to focus the rug out from under them.” log onto Twitch and interact with other means. on aside from Silverstein. It’s a little “Ten shows into that tour, we find them was so awesome,” he says. “It boat that I pushed into the water ourselves at home,” he shares. “It’s taught us a lot about how fans hear “There’s always some new shit com- and took on a life of its own and not only depressing that we had to music and what gets them excited.” ing out that we’re like ‘Okay, this it sailed away to places I never stop at the peak of our momentum is the new audience, and this is a thought it would go.” and our career, but there’s just However, when it came time to new way to get our music out there.’ all these uncertainties going on in write a record, there was no room We’ve always embraced it,” he says. Over time he’s realized that oththe world. It was frustrating, scary. for hope and happiness after what ers go through the same feelings, I think all of our mental health they had gone through. The last As they’ve matured, Silverstein making him feel like he’s less in his suffered from that. In some ways, record, Redux, had hopeful, up- has been inserting politics and own bubble because “being a lead beat tracks like “Just Say Yes,” but anger with the system over the past singer can be isolating,” which can we’re still not recovered.” when Told sat down with a guitar, few albums, something that Told be difficult for others to grasp. On Told is unsure if they will ever pen, and pad, and asked himself admits wasn’t the goal when they this, Told says that this makes being totally recover. Every Friday, all ‘What’s inside right now?’ He con- were younger. “We’ll leave that to lead singer the hardest job in the five band members would catch cluded, “It’s not fucking happy.” bands like Propagandhi and Strike band, saying, “I don’t care how fast up and check in with each other Anywhere or other bands that we you have to play the drums. Being on Zoom during the early days of On their newest record, Misery admire. They say it better.” Now it’s lead singer is harder.” 💣💣💣

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PHOTOGRAPHY David Decker

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INTERVIEW WITH GUITARIST AND VOCALIST TREVOR REILLY AND VOCALIST NUNO PEREIRA BY BEN SAILER

he title for A Wilhelm Scream’s forthcoming fifth album Lose Your Delusion, released April 14 via Creator Destructor Records, is an obvious parody of the Guns N’ Roses classic Use Your Illusion. There was even chatter amongst the band about making a double album like that early-’90s classic, though better judgement prevailed over their commitment to the bit.

“In layman’s terms, it means pull your head out of your ass,” guitarist Trevor Reilly says. “Which I think we all can do. Everybody needs that from time to time, especially in this day and age that we’re in right now.”

It’s a fitting sentiment coming from A Wilhelm Scream, a band that have balanced aggression with humor and life-affirming positivity since their inception as Smackin’ Isaiah in 1999. While gaps between records have gotten longer over the years On the surface, it sounds like (Lose Your Delusion is notably the kind of dry humor fans their first full-length since 2013’s expect from the long-running Partycrasher), they’ve sustained Bedford-based skate punks, a loyal following by being relentwhose catalog includes less road dogs, always looking song titles like “Less Bright forward to making new fans and Eyes, More Deicide” and “We continuing to extend their reach. Built This City (On Debts and Booze).” However, there’s also Yet, bands don’t endure like A Wila firm but light-hearted call helm Scream without weathering to action hidden in there too, some storms and learning to one that world-weary listen- navigate difficult circumstances. ers might do well to heed. Close friend and longtime gui-

tarist Mike Supina departed in 2018, choosing to move on from the touring lifestyle. While Reilly and Pereira respectfully avoid diving deep into the details of the split (for what it’s worth, it doesn’t sound like there’s ill will between parties here), the separation turned into a long and drawn-out process, delaying completion on Lose Your Delusion and leaving the band with an uncertain future.

a “tough time” dealing with the lockdown phase of the pandemic, citing the fact that “the entire world had a fucking tough time with COVID.”

Point taken. Instead of sitting on their hands, Reilly and his wife completed construction on Anchor End Studios, where he works as an audio engineer, and where the band recorded the album with coproducer James Witten. He says the studio will provide a “This interview should have hap- production home base for the pened three years ago,” Reilly band “for years to come,” which says. “That’s what we had been should be reassuring words for planning for all this time. The the band’s future. songs were there, but what we weren’t sure was going to be The band also welcomed Senses there was Mike … we probably Fail guitarist Jason Milbank into spent a good couple of years the fold as a full-time member in trying to change homey’s mind.” 2021. He had previously played If there’s a moral anywhere in with them as a session guitarist this story, it’s one about perse- in 2019. The physical distance verance. While COVID shut down between members has changed touring opportunities shortly the group’s internal dynamics a after Supina’s departure, Reilly bit, making it more challenging refuses to say the band had to get into a room and vibe as

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a collective whole, but spirits appear to be high. “Everything’s just moving forward like a well-oiled machine at this point,” vocalist Nuno Pereria adds. “We’re happy to have made it through it, coming out better on the other end. That’s a big reoccurring message on the record.” Lose Your Delusion served as a pressure valve for their internal tension and external obstacles. It’s an impassioned entry in the

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band’s catalog that displays all the hallmarks of their sound in what they describe as “A Wilhelm Sampler.” Reilly and Pereria trade off on lead vocals in ways they haven’t done since their early days, with Pereria striving to sing more clearly “so your mom could learn the words without a lyric sheet.”

without always going full bore. The result is a record where the heavy parts hit heavier than ever, while melodic sections increasingly stand out, not necessarily doing much different from their past work so much as accentuating aspects of their sound in new ways. The result is a record that retains the things fans have come to expect while introducing twists and turns that will keep listeners on their toes.

On a technical level, and while their shredding guitars and pummeling punk beats are still present, there are also moments that settle into relaxed grooves “I think on a lot of our previous

records, we had conditioned ourselves to go as hard as we can, like on 10, throw the kitchen sink at everything and stuff like that,” Reilly says. “It was really fun to pare things down to get some nice contrast and just make things interesting for the listener and interesting for ourselves.” Pereira pushed himself into new territory lyrically as well, at times leveling some of the most overtly socio-political tones in the band’s history. The track

PHOTO BY Sean Reilly

“Apocalypse Porn” is a particularly pointed response to close friends that once seemed level-headed succumbing to extreme conspiracy theories, and fascist elements in the punk scene coming out of the woodwork over the past several years. While socially conscious themes have always been present throughout A Wilhelm Scream’s catalog, they haven’t always been this direct, connecting the personal and the political in a way that is sharply resonant.

PHOTO BY Mike James

“It’s a cathartic kind of a thing, just to call out all the bullshit that I personally was going through with friends and family, and that other friends of mine were going through with their friends and family,” Pereira says. “I didn’t want to write in a mocking kind of sense or calling bullshit all the time. I wanted it to be more like, ‘Yo, what the fuck, how is this happening? Why is this happening?”

speaking with Reilly and Pereria about A Wilhelm Scream-their struggles, the work that went into Lose Your Delusion, and what they still hope to achieve—it’s that they’re not content to rest on their laurels. Even after more than two decades in the game, they’re still striving to grow creatively and connect with new listeners. The record isn’t just a love letter to longtime fans, it’s also an effort to write their most Something that’s clear when approachable record yet,

to create something that “everyone’s aunt, everyone’s dad, everyone’s mom” can appreciate. “No other Wilhelm record has had this much attention on that mission statement than this one.” Reilly says. “That’s probably why we’re so proud of it, because at the end of it, as tough as it was creating it, we really came upon something that we really feel is going to be a landmark in our history of the band.”💣💣💣

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PHOTOGRAPHY Joe Calixto

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INTERVIEW WITH PROJECT MASTERMINDS THEOGM AND EADDY BY JAMES ALVAREZ

t’s 2022. There’s a lot of crazy, seem to thrive on flipping preconterrifying shit going on these ceived notions on their heads and days. Some might argue the materializing the impossible, so it dystopian future from sci-fi should come as no surprise that stories of the past has all but ar- this unyielding duo made one of rived. It seems fitting then that an the most insane albums of the year avantgarde punk meets rap duo with one of the biggest pop punk like Ho99o9 would emerge with a icons of all time…Blink-182 drum blistering soundtrack for our 21st phenom, Travis Barker. century apocalypse, in the form of their new album, Skin, which “People know Travis [Barker] for dropped in March on DTA records. the pop punk drums,” theOGM declares, “they never heard him do a For the past ten years, Ho99o9 blast beat, but he loves this type of have blazed a mind-bending trail music. Travis listens to heavy music. of musical chaos all their own. The He’s not a new kid on the block, he brainchild of theOGM and Eaddy, been around.” Ho99o9’s diabolical mixture of hardcore punk, hip hop, industrial “Being in the studio with Barker, it and heavy metal, has turned heads was a good vibe,” Eaddy says. “We and earned acclaim from some of all three bounced ideas off each the biggest names in the extreme other and just pieced it together.” music world, while their firebrand live performances have made jaws The Ho99o9 boys first met Barker drop and converted non-believers when they performed at his famed in droves. TheOGM and Eaddy MUSINK festival in Costa Mesa, CA

back in 2019. TheOGM explains “It’s not really that complicated to that initially, “we started working us,” Eaddy says proudly of Ho99o9’s on a few songs, but it wasn’t to eclectic, chameleon like approach make an album. We just wanted to song writing. “We listen to all to make a few beats and get a types of music. Of course, we have couple songs but then 2020 hap- different inspirations and things pened. There was no touring, no we gather from in general, but I shows, nobody was doing shit. We wanna say it’s easy to us.” TheOGM all had time to just link up more adds, “Every record we go into and work on songs. Over time we making, sonically we know it’s gonhad this body of work and real- na be hard. That’s what Ho99o9 is ized we had 12 songs and decided about. For this record it was about to just make an LP.” balancing that. Most of it is high energy but it was about having And what an LP it is. little moments in there that felt like you had a breather,” he says. “It Skin is an insane, genre shattering was about challenging ourselves to voyage through the clusterfuck of do that instead of just going balls 21st century existence. It’s savagely to the wall. Not 30 minutes of pure heavy, weird, ugly and surprisingly bang your fucking head. I don’t catchy at the same time. The Ho99o9 listen to music like that. I listen to team effortlessly switch between music in waves.” brutal metallic riffs, hip-hop beats and trippy electronic madness Like waves crashing along the throughout the album and some- shore, the songs and energy on Skin times, even within songs themselves. rise and fall, some more violently

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PHOTOGRAPHY Joe Calixto

than others. “SLO BREAD” is a laid another way. Then he just does it we did with The Prodigy,” Eaddy back, hip-hop vibe fest featuring a with one foot.” reveals. “His wife and a mutual stellar performance from Bun B of friend was telling him about us famed Texas rap duo UGK. “PRO- Travis Barker plays drums on and he dug through our whole TECT MY BITCH PT. 2” is a pummel- every one of Skin’s songs. “Even discography.” This eventually led ing electronica nightmare while the trap shit that sounds like it’s to Eaddy performing alongside the “LOWER THAN SCUM” is a frantic programmed,” theOGM adds, “he’s Slipknot screamer at one of Taygrindcore track that channels the actually playing it.” lor’s solo gigs in Hollywood back spirit of Napalm Death with feroin 2019, and his vicious guest spot cious one foot blast beats. “BITE MY FACE” is another skull on Ho99o9’s “BITE MY FACE” and its crushing epic on Skin that features accompanying music video. “I asked Barker on a whim,” Eaddy a standout guest appearance says, “‘Yo, could you do the double from legendary Slipknot frontman “The crazy thing is we told him just kick drum on this one?’ and he’s Corey Taylor. “His wife was a fan of do the hooks on the first half. I like, ‘Nah, I don’t do that. I do it ours ‘cause she was into the track didn’t tell him to do the yell,” Eaddy

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shares. “He laced it up and when he sent it back, I was like, ‘this is some fucking Iowa [Slipknot’s iconic 2001 album] shit!’ Once it came around to make the video I was like, “Dude please you gotta be in it.” I was a little hesitant and reluctant to ask him to wear his mask because he’s never worn his mask in any other collab videos. But I’m like fuck it, what do I got to lose? We got the dude from Slipknot on the track anyways, might as well go the full 100 yards. Ain’t no half-steppin’. He was like, ‘Hell yeah, let’s get weird. Let’s take it there.”

With big time guest features, believe me till I’m dead. When the dizzying music videos and near war’s over, pay my debts. Send me universal acclaim as one of the off with no regrets” they say. most captivating groups of their generation, it might be easy to for- “There was a lot going on in 2020 get that there’s a message behind for everybody. People out of jobs, Ho99o9’s bombastic audio/visual people at home. It wasn’t just assault. Skin’s closing song “DEAD touring; nobody was making monOR ASLEEP?” is a poignant look at ey. There was also beauty in that, the horrors of modern America in not touring,” theOGM explains. that were briefly broadcast around “We were going so hard for so long, the world in 2020 after the killing those five, six years straight touring, of George Floyd by the Minneap- sometimes you don’t stop to smell olis Police Department. “There’s the roses. Even though there was a psycho with a badge. You don’t lots of fucked up shit going on in

the world, you can still go outside and get some sun. Like damn I need to figure out a way to survive regardless what’s going on. That didn’t stop us from making music, it didn’t stop us from staying healthy. It was just like being aware. I think a lot of people learned from it but yeah, it’s back to nothing. People are turning up, back to the bars, back at the club, back to doing drugs, back doing what they was doing. Our job is to always be that voice,” he says proudly. “Hip hop, hardcore always been that.

We gonna turn up with you, but we gonna always say that not just when it’s trendy. Motherfuckers only do that shit when it’s trendy but it’s still going on as we speak. This reminds people what is going on in society. In our communities anyways. Maybe not for everyone else, but in the Black community, that type of shit is still going down.” 💣💣💣

“ONCE IT CAME AROUND TO MAKE THE VIDEO I WAS LIKE, DUDE PLEASE YOU GOTTA BE IN IT. I WAS A LITTLE HESITANT AND RELUCTANT TO ASK HIM TO WEAR HIS MASK BECAUSE HE’S NEVER WORN HIS MASK IN ANY OTHER COLLAB VIDEOS. BUT I’M LIKE FUCK IT, WHAT DO I GOT TO LOSE? WE GOT THE DUDE FROM SLIPKNOT ON THE TRACK ANYWAYS, MIGHT AS WELL GO THE FULL 100 YARDS. AIN’T NO HALF-STEPPIN’.

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CAVE C

ave In have never been a band to dwell on the past. Twenty-seven years into their career, the group have amassed a catalog of diverse material ranging from metallic hardcore to proggy space-rock, continually progressing with every release. But after the tragic passing of longtime bassist Caleb Scofield in 2018 and the release of Final Transmission—his last demo recordings with the band—the four-piece are contemplating the past as much as the future, a notion displayed on their latest record, Heavy Pendulum, out May 20 via Relapse Records.

“It’s a reference to time being this thing that you have to reckon with sometimes,” guitarist, bassist, and vocalist Stephen Brodsky says of the title. “When there are major events that happen in your life that force you to just look ahead and look back at the same time, it can feel pretty heavy.” That duality is certainly expressed throughout the record’s 71-minute runtime. The songs on Heavy Pendulum blend the ideas and concepts that the band have excelled at throughout their long, eccentric career—heavy, pounding riffs; infectious refrains; and effect-laden atmospherics—into a sound that is both fresh and new, yet distinctively Cave In. It’s the realization of a musical concept laid forth by Scofield prior to his death. “Caleb really had this specific vision about moving forward with certain sounds or vibes of the band—things that kind of set us apart from our contemporaries,” says Brodsky. “With Heavy Pendulum, we feel like we probably

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INTERVIEW WITH GUITARIST, BASSIST, AND VOCALIST STEPHEN BRODSKY AND GUITARIST, VOCALIST, AND KEYBOARDIST ADAM MCGRATH BY COLIN ROBERTS

PHOTO Danielle Dombrowski

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got as close to that vision that we could.”

the iconic grunge band’s 2010 reunion—made a notable mark.

While Scofield’s presence is felt in “I just really connected with that sound and spirit—his riffs, lyrics, song, I guess,” says Brodsky. “I feel and even his bass guitar appear like with Cave In there’s probably throughout—longtime friend of some sort of similarities where, the band Nate Newton fills the here we are kind of just scanning void left in his absence. With a re- over our trajectory as a band sume including heavy hitters like and sort of pulling from these Converge, Jesuit, and Channel, key moments of our creative Newton brought new elements peaks and nearly 25 years of exto Cave In’s songs, immersing istence, trying to just put it all tohimself in the process of writing, gether to make something above arranging and editing. and beyond the catalogue as a whole—basically try to stuff our “’Wavering Angel,’ for instance, is catalogue into one record.” one of the softest Cave In songs for the first minute to two min- “We grew up loving Soundgarden,” utes, and I feel like Nate was very McGrath adds. “We’re in our early instrumental in sort of preserving 40s, and we were at the perfect the atmosphere and the vibe of age for all that music when it that song, especially in the begin- came out, so I’m not surprised at ning. He had a hand in arranging all that these influences are comit throughout the rest,” remarks ing out still.” Brodsky. “But then, with a song like ‘Blood Spiller,’ it’s kind of the As reflective as they may be, this flip side. We were able to just push new iteration of Cave In repthat song to make it as aggressive resents a move forward as well. and forceful and menacing as a Not only is Heavy Pendulum the Cave In song should be with Nate band’s first release with Relapse Newton in the band in 2022.” Records following the dissolution of their longtime label Hydra As a fan of Cave In’s career Head. It also marks the end of a himself, Newton was able to give DIY practice-space recording a broader perspective of what ethic. Produced by Kurt Ballou at worked and what didn’t, taking God City Studios, the record is acon the role of what they refer to tually their first proper studio reas the “suck filter.” It was that corded album since they released kind of intimate knowledge and the Planets Of Old EP in 2009. It’s a respect for the band’s back cat- new era for Cave In, one they are alog that has helped to shape looking forward to. their current sound. “The whole record is a new lease “You see that with Nate in the set- on this band,” says McGrath. “We list we’ve played in the past few started this thing when we were years,” notes guitarist, vocalist, 16, so it’s just crazy this is all still and keyboardist Adam McGrath. happening. I can’t believe we’re “There’s songs that I never thought doing another full-length record. about playing again. I think I can’t believe it’s on Relapse. I “Woodwork”(from 2003’s Anten- can’t believe Nate Newton is dona) is the best example. I never ing it with us. It’s wild that it’s still thought about putting “Wood- happening and that we’re still work” back in the set, but Nate pushing forward.” was very insistent upon it because he loved that song as a fan of the “Here we are, still talking about band, and I think it’s added a very our band. People still care. We’re good dynamic.” putting out records, and we just made one that we feel is one of Another key element to the over- our best, and there are times all sound of Heavy Pendulum is a when it has been the complete distinctly grunge and alternative opposite of this moment,” adds rock influence. Brodsky notes Brodsky. “We’ve all found a new that his recent time spent touring love for doing this band through with post-hardcore behemoths the process of writing and making Quicksand certainly impacted his this new record and pushing it creative mindset, but collectively as well. It’s good. We needed to the band found major inspira- reconnect with that, I think, just to tion when they revisited Sound- feel like the future is sort of worth garden’s discography. In particu- directing ourselves towards with lar, the song “Black Rain”—written this vehicle.” 💣💣💣 in the early ‘90s but finished for

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“Caleb really had this specific vision about moving forward with certain sounds or vibes of the band— things that kind of set us apart from our contemporaries.”

PHOTO Danielle Dombrowski

VERGE-IN

Nate Newton’s addition to Cave In expands upon the long and fruitful relationship they’ve shared with fellow Bostonians, Converge. Below are some essential records spawned from the crossover: Kid Kilowatt – Guitar Method (2004) Cave In’s Stephen Brodsky and Adam McGrath paired up with Converge’s Kurt Ballou for this short-lived group. Culled from recordings made between 1996 and 1999, Guitar Method found the group exploring their more emo and post-hardcore tendencies, a clear departure from the metallic hardcore of their main bands. Converge – When Forever Comes Crashing (1998) Brodsky joined Converge on bass for their sinister-sounding, 1998 landmark album. Weaving chaotic hardcore with serpentine metal riffs, the record included immediate fan favorites like “My Unsaid Everything” and “Towering Jehova,” making it an instant classic. Brodsky departed Converge shortly after to focus on Cave In full-time, opening the door for Newton to join. Old Man Gloom – Christmas (2004) The Boston supergroup’s fourth album—third to feature Newton and Cave In’s Caleb Scofield—is perhaps their finest hour. The band rip through slow, churning sludge-metal and pummeling hardcore riffs, accompanied by bouts of ambient drone and even a touch of acoustic guitar. This is a gift. Cave In – Shapeshifter/ Dead Already (2005) Converge drummer Ben Koller briefly filled in for Cave In’s JR Conners just before the band took a hiatus in 2005. This limited cassette single, which accompanied the band on that tour, featured Koller’s frenetic style on two brand-new and completely different-sounding tracks. Doomriders – Darkness Come Alive (2009) The Newton-led Doomriders enlisted the percussion work of Conners for their second full-length album. It’s a seamless fusion of classic rock, heavy metal, and punk that is as fun as it is pummeling. Mutoid Man – Helium Head (2014) The duo of Brodsky and Koller kicked off their now-three-piece band with a record of blazing rhythms, crushing guitar riffs, and catchy refrains. Helium Head picks up where the pair left off with “Shapeshifter” but pushes the rock into high gear.

“With Heavy Pendulum, we feel like we probably got as close to that vision that we could.”

Old Man Gloom: Seminar IX: Darkness Of Being (2020) With Brodsky filling the role left vacant by the late Scofield, the band reconvened for two simultaneously released records. Seminar IX is perhaps the Gloom’s most diverse-sounding recording yet, featuring the jagged “Canto De Santos” and the serene “Death Rhymes.”

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JIM LINDBERG INTERVIEW BY GEN HANDLEY

im Lindberg always knew he wanted to work with Ukrainian sisters Mad Twins someday—he just never would have imagined the sad circumstances in which their creative paths would cross.

Through their work with Punk Rock & Paintbrushes and their video for NOFX, the Pennywise frontman has admired the siblings’ inspired, raw aesthetics for years. So when brainstorming video ideas for the song “Good Enough” from his solo record, Songs From the Elkhorn Trail, which was released digitally last November and sees physical release on May 5th via Epitaph Records, he immediately visualized a punk rock couple like Mad Twins.

their situation,” Lindberg explains. “I met with the girls and planned on doing a video because I love their stuff so much.” Lindberg also thought it was an opportunity to help the sisters, who still have friends and family in their besieged native country. “I mean, if you were to ask us back in November that we would be having this conversation today (about the war), I think all of us would say you’re absolutely crazy,” he says, shaking his head sadly. “I thought it might be a cool way to send support (to) Olga and Vira. They need help right now.” Lindberg, who is speaking to me from his home in Manhattan Beach, just got back from a rehearsal for the remaining Pennywise shows, where they are playing the band’s first five albums, in their entirety, in as many nights.

“It was one that was just the story of a Sid-and-Nancy type couple that are fighting against the odds and having “It’s a lot … we bit off a lot more big dreams of getting out of than we could chew doing

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PHOTO Brent Broza

ive of me and my career in music and really encouraged these album shows,” he says me to get a college educawith a small chuckle. “We’re tion and just couldn’t have doing the first five albums, been a bigger presence in and especially the ones we’re my life,” he says. doing this weekend, there’s just so many songs! The Full “He passed away from AlzCircle album and Straight heimer’s disease. It’s such an Ahead album—it’s got a lot of insidious disease of people material in there to remember. losing themselves and their We’ve been going over the memories, and they don’t recsongs every day and arguing ognize you sometimes. There’s about who’s right about how no easy way to die, but this is each song goes, so it’s been a a really tough one, and the range of emotions are incredlively rehearsal.” ible. I touch upon that in some It’s the deep dive into Pen- of the music, but also, some nywise and these heartfelt of the songs on the acoustic songs that Lindberg has been album are from when I was 15 bouncing between, but at the years old. Some I wrote in the moment, he seems to still be ‘90s; some I wrote during the processing the importance pandemic, right before I went and impact of his first solo in to record. It’s a real wide record, particularly “Don’t spectrum of material there.” Lay Me Down,” the album’s centerpiece, which was writ- Pointing across the room, he ten about his father’s passing notes, “He bought me my first guitar, which is still sitting over last year. there. I still write songs on it.” “Yeah, (he was) super support- 💣💣💣

PHOTO Nedda Afsari

“PLAY IT SHARP”

SPICE INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST ROSS FARRAR BY CALEB R. NEWTON

n their new album Viv, a May release from Dais Records, the California rock group Spice present a stirring portrait of finding genuinely freeing–even if temporary–relief.

Moving through Viv could be compared to the feeling of stumbling into a friend while listlessly out on the town– the internal tension that drove your prior, nervous movements hasn’t vanished. But there’s an energizing sense of purpose, reflected by the songs driving push forward. The music seems geared towards comfort attained through beneath-the-surface understanding and a sense that you can keep going. “The record is very downcast, lyrically speaking,” vocalist Ross Farrar shares. “All the lyrical content is about getting out from under a heavy psychological weight. There

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are many factors to this. In the past few years, we’ve lost many friends and family members to the throes of addiction. Having that as a backdrop is where we begin. This record also comes in the shadow of a pandemic, which means we were heavily inundated with death at all hours of the day and night. We have people who fell to that virus or know people who did, and talking about it now with various people, I’ve come to the realization that what that did was shift our perception of life on earth–the frailty of it and not to mention the amount of emotional bandwidth it took up. All of us were thinking about it all the time; even if we weren’t thinking about it directly at times, it was in our subconscious.” Musically, the punchy but slick Viv features melodic turns that suggest an emotional fraying– the pulses of life

are there and unmistakable, but Spice broadens their portrait. Viv sounds rhythmically upended, reflecting the course of a sometimes-chaotic life. Yet, there’s beauty here, and warmth–the unassuming but compelling energy evokes something like the experience of a friend (who knows you’d like it) pushing you further into the crowd at some punk show.

world full of striking, shimmering music in which the possibilities for life prove remarkably persistent. And as always, the violins from Spice member Victoria Skudlarek are an enlivening touch. In fact, everything here sounds vibrant; the music seems prepared so that it bursts with invigorating vivacity.

“We put ourselves into whatever art “I tend to think of sound, bands, we create; even if we try to subrecords in terms of seasons. And merge those aspects of ourselves, with that, darker or lighter colors,” they eventually surface in some Farrar explains. “We spent the way or other,” Farrar shares of the entire winter of ‘20/‘21 creating band. “I write about living in Highthe songs and recorded them in land Park, feeling like an outsider, the spring of ‘21. That being said, the strangeness of falling in love, they have a bit of winter dolor put how we all share a community of to them, but then again winter in pain, one-sided friendships, and California is pretty bright, hence our ideas of FUTURE, how ridiculous that can be. (...) (Music is) a the sound palette and our entire highly laconic and emotive medivibration. There’s a lot of sadness on this record, and the sound is um. In other words, you can say a mimetic of that. The sounds always lot of emotional, powerful things come first, and then the words, so in a short amount of time, and because of that it’s highly affective. whatever I heard first I put words to. Then again, there are many So yeah, we’re here to rock you.” areas of jubilation on the record, and you can find them on songs “Mostly it’s the entire band in a like ‘Live Scene’ and in the guitars room together making songs on the fly,” Farrar adds, discussing some of ‘Dining Out.’” guiding principles for Spice. “The Carried along by elements includ- lion’s share of Viv was played live ing Farrar’s impassioned singing, in a room in Santa Rosa, CaliforViv is a powerful piece of artistry nia, all together in harmony. Our with which you’re going to want original ‘philosophy of songwriting’ to just exist. It’s a vibrant, inviting remains: PLAY IT SHARP.” 💣💣💣

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FINDING UNDERSTANDING IN CHAOS

CREMATION LILY PHOTOGRAPHY Tim Berkbeck

INTERVIEW WITH MASTERMIND ZEN ZSIGO BY NICHOLAS SENIOR

he latest release from U.K.based Cremation Lily is a truly liminal creation, gloriously unclassifiable (industrial psychedelic shoegaze? Chill noisecore?), but it feels incredibly comfortable despite all the noise. There’s a real sense of peace amidst the electronic undercurrents at play to Dreams Drenched in Static, out now via The Flenser. It’s many things at once while being astounding at its core.

The creation of this record was central to how it was processed and the meaning behind it. By writing and recording using whatever was nearest to you at the sparks of inspiration (at the darkest of hours), it feels like a record that almost had to come out of Zsigo.

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catharsis before folding back into calm. I have thought long and hard about what genre this record is, and I’m still at a loss but I feel right at home with The Flenser and peers like Planning For Burial, Midwife, Have a Nice Life, Drowse, Chat Pile, Street Sects, etc.”

Zsigo takes a literal hands on approach to creating sound, using whatever was at hand and waiting for inspiration to strike. “Outside of the hectic moments last year I had space at home I dedicated to the record,” Zsigo says. “That’s where a lot of my post-recording processing happened & where the record was really tied together aesthetically. Taking those original dictaphone recordings and stretching them into disembodied choirs, using often broken and unpredictable equipment to create further instability, and finally getting hands on to physically warp the audio via tape and then held on equal footing as the rest of the record - I don’t want to make perfect music, I just need to get it out of me. The hiss, the warped audio, that’s how it’s all held together and I think why this project can be so fluid genrewise. You’ll always feel the hands that make it; with this record you’re getting the mind too.”

Cremation Lily, aka Zen Zsigo, agrees. “I feel the same way about my sound too. I’ve never quite understood it, but I’m really happy you clearly understood it. That’s the biggest thing for me, finding understanding in chaos.”

Zsigo explains, “2021 was an incredibly hectic year for me, juggling painful family situations, past trauma that kept rearing its hurtful head, working a lot, sleeping a lot, and somehow found time to tour the UK - but the only thing that was for certain last year was that these songs would finally be free. Due to the travel last year, I ended up recording vocal parts on trains, demos while crisis-solving, guitar while on endless hold to professionals, etc. This meant the sound palette of the record is diverse beyond anything I’ve done before, maybe even jarring–but it’s always held together by greyscale cassette hiss and various lo-fi recording techniques. In that sense, more than anything it has

the roughest elements on equal footing with everything else, some melodies come and trail off to nothing; others swell into vivid shocking

Lyrically, much like the crashing of waves central to the album’s story, there’s a balance of calm and harshness, despair and hope that comes through in the life-affirming aspects of the record.

forced me to find my own voice amongst the tape-mulch, just working with what I had on hand and in mind, allowing all of that to impact the recording.” “A lot of previous Lily work,” Zsigo continues, “has been the result of free-form hands-on expression & obsession with sound. The texture was first and only later turned into songs. Being at home for so long with my own thoughts for a year and then thrust into 2021 meant I had much less time to sit down and obsess with sound. I have recorded

sound almost daily for many years. With all the barriers in place, songs started floating around in my head first, rather than being created with my hands as before. As I wanted to capture these on record as naturally as possible. I would end up grabbing a dictaphone in the middle of the night to record ideas. My phone was dying in the middle of the day sometimes because I was transcribing these half-remembered songs from the night before to notes all the time. That lost and found feel has stayed on the record too. I didn’t want to strip all of it away and kept

“Through several traumatic but survived incidents that just unfortunately happened periodically growing up, to the near-drowning several years ago,” Zsigo says. “I’ve really found it hard to connect with the wider world most of my life - masculinity especially was a bit of a nightmarish cage around me, which I have thankfully been able to escape from over time and have found freedom even more so in expression. With that, this record is just open. It’s honest like a journal you never thought anyone would read. There are lies in here, the ones I felt comfortable telling myself for so long. It’s just now I feel comfortable in calling myself out too. It’s about being imperfect and tempted to give up but always searching for understanding, always finding comfort in something. “ 💣💣💣

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“Pirates should be at the forefront of what is already a high-quality discography.”

(GER)

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be seen as optimistic or despairing depending on how you choose to look at them.

“I just always wanted things to sound heavy, and they were sounding pretty heavy, but not heavy enough.”

“I’m just writing feelings in a more storytelling sort of way to try and illustrate them,” Okusami says. “It’s ... I guess reflecting, but not in a ‘I’m going to hold a mirror to society’ kind of way, but just on how things are feeling in the moment. And I think often, most of the time, they’re just feeling mostly confusing and weird.” There’s nothing prescriptive for solving the woes of the world here; only a series of snapshots that capture moments in an uncomfortable time, presented as they are, without varnish or artifice. Initially envisioned as the score for an accompanying feature film that was eventually scrapped, it isn’t exactly a concept album per se, though there is a thematic undercurrent that ties everything together. “I think of it as going from beginning to end, day to night, birth to death, but it’s definitely not literally charting that,” Okusami says. “It’s just taking little snippets of those times.” The video for lead single “Bad Brain Daze” is an incisive, slice-of-life glimpse into a doom-scrolling day spent indoors. The Chris Farren-directed spot started as a feature film idea condensed down into a more compact format, featuring forest animals that turn from friendly to ferocious in just under five minutes. Oh, and it also features a surprise appearance from Jeff Rosenstock, who enters the picture with a searing saxophone solo. PHOTO Miranda Jayne Nathanson

OCEANATOR INTERVIEW WITH SINGER/SONGWRITER ELISE OKUSAMI BY BEN SAILER

ceanator (the namesake of even sunnier-sounding hooks. It’s singer and songwriter Elise a vibe that was unlocked in part Okusami) is offering an exer- by an encounter with a certain cise in contrast with her second full instrument that was purpose-built length, Nothing’s Ever Fine, out now to deliver the sort of growling agvia Polyvinyl Records. On her debut gression Okusami had been chasing record Things I Never Said, she es- but couldn’t quite achieve through tablished a balance between grun- conventional means. gy indie rock riffs and sugary pop melodies that belie deep introspec- “I just always wanted things to sound tion and existential dread. This time heavy, and they were sounding pretty around, she pushes her songwriting heavy, but not heavy enough,” Okusasensibilities further in all directions, mi says. “And then I finally got to play with denser guitars underpinning a baritone guitar at a music shop

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when we were on tour once, and I was like, this is it. This is what I needed. The duality between pop hooks and gut-punching guitars provides the perfect foundation for lyrics that capture apocalyptic vibes and have permeated the collective consciousness in recent years. Yet it’s also a personal document for Okusami, one rooted in reflection on the past while confronting an uncertain present, an unsettled collection of songs that she says can

“I played all the guitar parts on this record, which I usually do, but I’m extra excited about it this time because I decided not to be so self-conscious about it,” Okusami says. “I was like, ‘Oh yeah, I can play the guitar, so just go for it.’ So, there’s a couple of solos on there that I’m really excited about.” For a record that dwells on themes of survival and isolation, Okusami is in good company. She was also joined in the studio by her brother and longtime collaborator Mike Okusami and genre-busting wunderkind Bartees Strange, along with numerous vocal contributions from members of Sonder Bombs, Late Bloomer, Groupie, Long Neck, Alright, and Maneka. It’s Okusami’s sensibilities that everything revolves around here, though, and this time around, she isn’t holding back her chops. If the world is indeed on the verge of collapse, she’s going out shredding. 💣💣💣

PHOTO Vince Sadonis

THE COLOR FRED

“I WAS REALLY TRYING TO EMULATE THE SOUND AND FEEL OF ‘IT’S A SHAME ABOUT RAY.’ JULIANA HATFIELD’S VOCALS ALWAYS SOUNDED YOUNG TO ME, SO MY 12-YEAR-OLD SEEMED PERFECT FOR PLAYING HER ROLE.”

INTERVIEW WITH GUITARIST AND VOCALIST FRED MASCHERINO BY TIM ANDERL

hiladelphia’s The Color Fred, the indie rock quartet led by vocalist and guitarist Fred Mascherino, reemerged in April with A Year And Change, their first new album in well over a decade, on his own newly announced label Heading East Records. Macherino is the former guitarist and vocalist of Breaking Pangaea, who released a couple of albums and an EP in the early ‘00s on Equal Vision Records. The band split, and Mascherino joined Taking Back Sunday, who were in the midst of writing their second full-length, and drummer Will Noon went to Straylight Run and later, fun.

Terrible Things promptly signed to Universal Motown Records, released their popular self-titled full-length and hit the road supporting everyone from The Offspring to Bayside. Mascherino followed the shortlived Terrible Things with a couple years as a hired gun touring guitarist, most notably for Say Anything and The Lemonheads. Of the frequent highlights of the latest album, none is perhaps more satisfying than when Mascherino owns his hardfought-and-won rock god status on the arena-ready ripper, for which he seems evenly matched by the current Color Fred cohort of Steve Angello (guitar, backing vocals), Monte Holt (drums), and Keith Gibbons (bass).

In addition to introducing the new The “I posted the song with just acoustic Color Fred unit, A Year And Change as- guitar and one vocal. I had over 30 sures longtime fans that Mascherino people from all over the world send has lost none of his affable, everyman me recordings —singers, guitarists, charm, knack for relatable storytell- programmers, EDM people … that ing, or his enviable mastery of deliver- was the result,” he says. “I decided to ing earworm riffs and hooky, call and use everything everyone sent me, so response vocal lines. The album does that version is pretty lush. There was throw a few interesting curveballs. a bass player, about seven guitar For instance, “Right I Left” possesses players, acoustic, different synths the swing of a country ballad while and things, and ultimately, about the lead guitar line rings faintly of his 10 singers. There are alternative Pangaea days. versions on our Spotify. Additionally, “Everwrite,” is a year in “That was a neat experience for me the making, ‘90s alternative pop mas- and became a song that saved me terpiece Mascherino began writing on some bad days,” Mascherino with Lemonheads’ Evan Dando years recalls. “Working on that gave me a ago. His youngest daughter, Evie, lot of reasons to keep writing.” joins him in duet here, confidently assuming the role of Juliana Hatfield The album also offers a cover of preto Mascherino’s Dando. ’90s INXS new wave hit, “Change.”

Bend to Break, The Color Fred’s debut full-length, followed several years of touring with TBS and a pair of massively well received, Billboard charting records before his ultimate departure “The Color Fred is something that I from the band. Bend To Break resulted always wanted to be ongoing, and it “I was really trying to emulate the “It seemed like a fitting addition given in The Color Fred touring throughout just kept getting sidetracked,” Masch- sound and feel of It’s A Shame the difficult times we’ve experienced Europe with Dashboard Confessional, erino admits. “In 2019, I met the guys About Ray. Juliana Hatfield’s vocals the last few years as It makes a Angels and Airwaves, and others. I’m playing with now, and we clicked always sounded young to me, so pledge of positivity even during hard right away. I had a small batch of my 12-year-old seemed perfect for times. (Gibbons) mentioned that The Color Fred followed the release songs demoed out before I met them, playing her role.” he’d like to do it at the same time with an acoustic EP, titled A Year And like “Veronica Road,” which is one that that I was sort of thinking about it. I Change, in 2009 before Mascherino Breaking Pangaea never finished. But Towards the end of the album, “Future like the cover because everyone in put the project on hiatus to collabo- “Creatures” and “Attention” were songs Past” offers an interesting collabo- the band takes a verse of the song. It rate with Josh Eppard of Coheed and we wrote together. I feel like our future ration birthed of COVID boredom was cool to show off that those guys Cambria and Andy Jackson of Hot is bright together because I feel like that was the result of a social media can sing.” 💣💣💣 Rod Circuit in the trio Terrible Things. those are some of the better ones.” request to fans.

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ON TOUR NOW! the band‘s history could hardly be celebrated any better!

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EXISTENTIALISM AND DOGS IN SPACE

PHOTO Tom May

INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST TIM BROWNE BY EMMA LAURENT

he story of Colorado band Elway is subtle. After making headlines in 2011, when namesake football great John Elway requested they change their name, the band has lived under the radar, making sturdy emo-punk records and building a dedicated fan-base.

According to front man Tim Browne, there’s nothing that differentiates Colorado’s punk scene and sound at this point in time from the rest of the country. However, more than one song on the new album, The Best of All Possible Worlds, includes multiple lines about looking West and starting anew. The song “Deep Fake” even includes a bridge of Hi-Ho-Silver whistles and a deep tom-tom, immediately transporting the listener to the time of saloon shoot-outs and blowing

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tumbleweeds … or, just 30 minutes north on Hwy 287 out of Denver.

The Best of All Possible Worlds was recorded in Denver in 2021, by Wyoming native Collin Ingram at The Band Cave Studios in Denver.

For the song’s video, the band chose to tell the heart-wrenching story of Laika, the first dog in space. In true Mystery Science Theater 3000 fashion, the story is both one of human control, arrogance, and hope. “Maximum Entropy” captures Laika’s spirit. “She was forced to do something that she probably had absolutely no understanding of whatsoever, and then died for the pleasure as well,” Browne says. “But that is, in a way, incredible beyond her own ability to comprehend that she was the first dog to ever leave the planet.”

For the new album, the band found itself stuck like all of us, in the 20202021 reality. This was made more While Elway didn’t set out to make difficult by different members living a concept album, Browne feels this and working outside of Colorado. happened inevitably. Browne’s After Browne put together a few favorite song on the album is demos, the band made the hard “Maximum Entropy,” and serves decision to meet in person the as a constant current of disorder summer of 2020, at the height of the through the other tracks. pandemic, and misinformation, to work out the songs. To put it simply, “The song itself is about the statistiBrowne said the choice was “gnarly.” cal unlikelihood that you’ll ever get to experience any given moment The space and time to due to COVID before the death of the universe It’s a heavy feeling to contemplate did prove useful, forcing Elway to … it’s a double-edged sword. This and work through. But that’s why we take more time and work within the [moment] will never happen again, have Elway to do the hard work and constraints of cross-country collab- and it’s tragic, but it’s so incredibly pilot us through the turbulence of oration. The end result is the band’s singular and precious that it hap- nothingness, in search of something most comprehensive album to date. pened at all. That it is special.” “singular and precious.”💣💣💣

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“Before, we were just total unrelenting darkness. Now there’s maybe just this little iota of light available.”

DEATHWHITE INTERVIEW COLLECTIVELY WITH THE BAND BY NICHOLAS SENIOR

very individual who is artistic has a singular spark of light that they can bring to the world. Even if we’re talking about death, despair, and the destruction of humankind, there’s still light in that. Enigmatic dark metal quartet Deathwhite embrace that dichotomy beautifully on their third full-length record. Grey Everlasting, out June 10 via Season of Mist, continues their evolution away from individual despair and melodic doom into something that’s existential, haunted and laced with the might of extreme metal. Grey Everlasting contains the band’s most fully realized vision yet, with a widescreen approach to dark metal that is riveting and all-encompassing.

Thematically, both musically and in the lyrics, and in the beautiful artwork for Grey Everlasting, there’s this notion of only through climbing a mountain, seeing all around you, will you fully understand the cycle of life. And that cycle includes harsh elements like black and death riffs. The band agrees: “We’ve become a lot more of an existential, outward-facing band, and the things going on in the world always really make each other within the band scratch our heads as that why and how these things happen. Humanity has all these great advantages and all these great tools and all these wonderful things at our disposal, but it continues to shoot itself in the proverbial foot. That’s sort of where we are as a band. “From a lyrical front, you have support of unscrupulous characters who lied and lie

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and see people. Yet, they’re embraced by a large portion of folks throughout, not only our country, but the world as well. You have climate change; you have greed; you have social media playing such a heavy role into people’s lives. It’s all these tools that could be used for great, beneficial purposes (but) are done to the detriment of humanity. And that’s really what Grey Everlasting is about.

vocalist, or they have the Mastodon-style vocals, where—how do I want to put it— you’re grunting in key. The gentleman who sings for us is not a professionally trained singer, but he is immensely talented. He understands musical theory. He understands harmonies. He understands how to get the most out of his vocals without stomping all over the music. So that is always really one of the first considerations when writing our songs, which is probably why we go through so many revisions, because we are so conscious of where to put the vocals and how to make them sound good.

“It also has a little bit of some thoughts about the pandemic, just wanting to forget that it just all happened and move on to another part of life and see what else is out there and see what’s in front of you,” they “So, having a clean singer with this style of continue. “It’s a mixture of those two things. music, you usually you have to dumb down When we started, we were very much a personal, inward-facing band, but as we’ve progressed and written more songs and the world unfortunately continues to take such perilous turns, it’s become very easy fodder for us to compose our songs. But if you do go through the 11 songs on Grey Everlasting, there always is at least some little spec of light scattered in there; whereas before, we were just total unrelenting darkness. Now there’s maybe just this little iota of light available.” Part of that balance comes from being one of the most notable metal acts to fully employ melodic singing, and that aspect of Deathwhite’s sound has never been as wonderfully executed as it is here. “(The vocals are) an extension as another instrument, and I don’t think people understand how difficult it is sometimes to write for a clean vocalist. Let’s face it—A vast portion of metal bands have a growl

the riffs a little bit,” they say. “It’s a bit of a give or take, push and pull almost, with that. We’re doing our best to strengthen that balance where we still want to have interesting riffs and harmonies and drums behind everything, but still the vocals really are what guide Deathwhite. And in many respects, that’s the first thing that people point out with our sound. We take great care to make sure that all the vocals fit, that we have the right words, and sometimes less is more; we don’t need to sing over every part. We’re sort of a band that’s some of its parts, there’s not one person in the band who overshadows or overrides everything. Ii’s very much even distribution between all four of us.”💣💣💣

PHOTO AFord

ALL HAIL THE RETURN OF

INTERVIEW WITH GUITARIST RUSS TIPPINS BY ADDISON HERRON-WHEELER

our years after their previous album, Cruel Magic, Satan have released Earth Infernal via Metal Blade Records. The ’80s rippers have taken their time with this new release, and it shows.

“We actually started the process in late 2018, but life kept getting in the way, that is until the shutdown,” says guitarist Russ Tippins. “So, after three years of honing the raw material into 10 fighting fit songs, the actual recording process was brutally quick, and I wouldn’t change that either. We were prepared enough to get the basic tracks recorded live off the floor in one or two takes. When we listened back through the speakers, there was a tangible sense of urgency in the recordings which we didn’t want to lose by overdoing it. In general, the second-takes were played technically better, but the first takes just had something more

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in the chemistry between us, so that’s what we went with. And because it was already sounding so good, we kept overdubs to an absolute minimum.

plentiful time and space we were given to create them.”

While not usually an overtly political band, Satan couldn’t stay silent anymore on the Tippins goes on to explain that issue of climate change, which each release they are rolling they address with recent work. out is meant to be a compan- Many fans have pointed out ion to previous records, but that there are references to also distinct and new. With this the issue on the record, includalbum, they aimed to capture ing the album title. the raw essence of the band. “In our whole back catalog, “I mean, we’ve never been the we never voiced a position type of band to layer the gui- on the subject, and the only tars sixteen times then drown reason we are raising a them in a sea of fake orches- hand now is that it seems to tra strings,” he expands. “All have been marginalized as we want is to get our music a talking point,” Tippins says. across with as few instru- “For two years, the world has ments as possible so that our been preoccupied by a virus five individual performances and the rise of the right in are laid bare for the listener. global politics. Those two Despite that, I’d venture to say issues have monopolized there is more melodic infor- news reporting worldwide. The mation than ever within those clamor has been deafening, basic tracks. That was only while our biggest problem made possible because of the has been quietly festering in a

dark corner and is worse than ever. Our aim with the title and cover art is to try to direct a little light into that corner. To get it back onto the table. Also, over the last two years we noticed a growing trend among certain circles to proclaim that they don’t trust science anymore—presumably because to do so would require them to make changes in their lifestyles that they just don’t fancy. Yet when it conveniences them they’ll trust in science enough to step onto an airplane or undergo lifesaving heart surgery. Science isn’t a problem if it enables them to log on to the internet and spread the word that science is fake. Let’s just say they haven’t thought that through. In the song lyric of “From Second Sight,” we’ve tried to put ourselves into their mindset and write a kind of manifesto of exactly what they would do when they are kings of the world.” 💣💣💣

DON’T SLEEP ON THESE SPECIAL RELEASES... BY HUTCH

REISSUES:

AUTUMN

THE CYCLE REVOLVES IN CEASELESS MOTION HELLMINDED RECORDS

Autumn were a post melodic style hardcore band from PA. Formed in 1994, the band released three proper 7”s in ’95, ’96, and ’97 for a total of 10 songs after their four track cassette demo. Hellminded Records gathered 11 songs from their first EP, Wire Hangers, comp tracks, and songs from the Glass, Bound, and Gagged EP. The intensity and dark beauty which Autumn created in their short existence is captured here with pointed delivery. Autumn explored various points on the emotional spectrum, cultivating a sonic dynamic akin or influence by Doughnuts, 108, Quicksand, and Endpoint. Each song feels raw and is relayed with heavy riffs and angular guitar work that slices. 💣

DOWNSET

ANGER/RITUAL 7” AND ABOUT TA BLAST 7” NUCLEAR BLAST RECORDS In the early 90s, four friends got together and played heavy hardcore with a groove and the swagger of the LA streets, much like Madball did in NYC, and who Downset would tour with in 1995 with Dog Eat Dog. They also toured Europe separately with Slayer, Biohazard, and Pantera, which in the mid 90s is impressive to be that consistent for a young band. They even toured the States with Testament. There are many MTV Europe interviews showing a young Rey Oropeza (vocalist) and James Morris (bass) providing an interesting snapshot of the time and their fire of youth. They mixed lyrics laced with loathing of injustice and a fresh perspective for their mostly suburban white audience, with a little hip hop flavor and graffiti (Check “Pocket Full of Fat Caps”). The band disbanded after three LPs.

THE CATATONICS HUNTED DOWN EP SOUTHERN LORD

Southern Lord have done a stellar job reissuing classic hardcore punk records (Poison Idea, YDI, Brotherhood, and Uniform Choice) and continue with the classic, long-out-of-print 1984 EP, Hunted Down, by Syracuse/Central NY’s first hardcore band, The Catatonics. A deep, esoteric dive that draws heavily from Boston hardcore titans like Jerrys Kids, FUs, and DYS, along with Negative Approach (check the vocals), Poison Idea, and NYC’s Agnostic Front, The Mob, and Nihilistics, their sound was furious chaos. The textured songwriting was a foreshadowing of Bold, YOT, and Side By Side. This reissue adds nine songs to the original five, and it won’t cost the $80 to $100 the O.G. record can cost on Discogs. Voracity and intensity are exorcised through ultra-fast drumming, ripping riffs, and caustic growls, but the tracks have sections that slow down at times to a perfect two-step rhythm (still fast) that would be the foundation of hardcore for decades after through today. The band disbanded soon after this record. Belvy K would go on to do stints in 7 Seconds, UK Subs, D Generation, and more. And the most magical statement in heavy music today follows: “All tracks have been remastered from original sources by Brad Boatright.” 💣

SAVAGE REPUBLIC

TRAGIC FIGURES REAL GONE MUSIC

If you love super niche maelstroms of influences strung together by hyphens, prepare for Real Gone’s reissue of 1982’s Tragic Figures album by Savage Republic. Touted as “The world’s first (and only) Post-Punk- Industrial-Trance-Psychedelic-Surf record.” And that descriptor is extremely accurate. The band was Now, 20 years later, Downset has signed to Nuclear Blast (again, known for intense brooding live shows. Co-Founder Bruce Licher like Madball) for a new comeback album. To celebrate, Nucle- started his own label and released this (and other) records. For the ar Blast is reissuing two early EP demos - Blast On You and Anger. LP’s 40th Anniversary Edition, Real Gone Music worked with Licher The music is a mix of incendiary tracks about LA Riots, rape and had Tragic Figures remastered from original analog tapes by culture, violence, police, drugs, and a not-so-subtle diss on a Mike Milchner at Sonic Vision. The release will be supplemented by “unreleased rehearsal recordings taped in the bowels of UCLA verse to contemporaries mixing rap and hardcore. 💣 Parking Garages.” It’s a tense, gripping album entrenched in dark beauty and elevated by a strenuous atmosphere. 💣

86 NEW NOISE

SKIN & SORROW

FRAYLE

THUNDERHEADS

LaMACCHIA

BURNING TONGUE raft PRISONER’S CINEMA k

THE LINE, ITS WIDTH, & THE WARDRONE

Heavy, Witch, Doom. Haunting, hypnotic mix of crushing Sleep-style doom and cooing ethereal vocals à la Cocteau Twins' Elizabeth Fraser.

Egnimatic layered & moody Rock. RIYL: Liars, Doves, Autolux, Radiohead. Debut by guitarist & vocalist John LaMacchia from Candiria)

Blackened Metal, Hardcore, Punk. RIYL C to Dwid Hellion to G.I.S.M. Crushing nihilism that nod to the shadowy side of hardcore pun

Doom, Sludge, Metal, Prog. RIYL Part Chimp, Unsane, Melvins. Rebreather creates punishing, and teneacious music that seethes and breathes.

OUT NOW

JULY 2022

MAY 2022

@AqualambRecords

REBREATHER

NEW NOISE 87

CONTINUED

EPs:

THE JULIANA THEORY STILL THE SAME KIDS PT 1 EQUAL VISION

In 2021, The Juliana Theory broke a 16-year dormancy to release an eight-track reimagining of classic songs from their catalog. Now, they will release three EPs between now and early 2023. The first of which, Still the Same Kids Pt I, kicks it all off. In 1999, they released their first LP on Tooth & Nail. The five-piece helped define a genre and splinter into their own thing with emo and alternative influences, resulting in heartfelt, creative songwriting. The band is now a duo, consisting of Brett Detar (vocals, guitar, keyboards) and Joshua Fiedler (vocals, guitar, bass). “Playback ‘99” is the first single from the impending EP. The band notes, “Musically, “Playback ’99” sounds exactly like a crossroads. It rides along hastily on top of layers of Joshua Fiedler’s signature guitars and energetic punk rock drums […]. I think what I’ve always loved about music is its ability to NOT make us choose a road. As listeners and songwriters, we are free to be transported back to a moment while simultaneously inhabiting the present. In a song time can stand still and carry you metaphysically–almost spiritually–to another place.” 💣

SLUGFEST

LIES WRITTEN IN STONE NEW AGE

You love Terror. You love Buried Alive. Here is the band the catapulted Scott Vogel through many an angry kid’s (and adult’s!) speakers. Slugfest only released a few EPs. The band also was ground zero for Tim Redmond of Snapcase and Matt Dente who would follow Vogel to Despair. Lies Written in Stone is an interesting two track EP. Representing the final recording of the band, the instruments were recorded in the 90’s and remastered here to glorious sonic destruction (bass sounds great). Vocals were completed by Vogel in 2020, executing a harsh, forceful performance after 25 years of honing his screaming. Two tracks of crushing Buffalo Hardcore preserved and unearthed without losing an ounce of ferocity. 💣

SPLITS:

DOMKRAFT/SLOMATICS

ASCEND/DESCEND MAJESTIC MOUNTAIN RECORDS

Brilliant psych/sludge/doom by two renowned forces. Apparently, the bands met at Psycho Las Vegas in 2017. The friendship birthed some jamming, but here each band delivers promisingly on their respective sides. Slomatics have a few LPs, a litany of splits (including the classic with Conan), and a Live at Roadburn installment. They invest three tracks here. The “Slo(w)” in Slomatics is earned here, traipsing at a glacier’s pace. “Positive Runes” is more spacey and atmospheric while “Buried Axes on Regulus Minor” downtunes and hammers heavy, gnarly riffs. Domkraft’s “The Core Will Pull You Home” is a banger with a Ufomammut meets Black Pyramid sound, brutal, heavy, and thick. The song pushes forth with a torturous battering of the eardrums only to give way to a sonic space trekking move, motivated by plundering the psych guitar sound. Hypnotic. “The Brush Descends the Length” is a grandiose declaration, magnificent in conception and execution. The bellowing and pulsating, grinding guitars work in unison to melt gray matter. This is a profound adventure from two trios offering two originals of new material and each band covering a track from their brothers in mind-pummeling doom. 💣

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